


Taking Care of Business

by BerylRoses



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Mild Language, POV Third Person, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerylRoses/pseuds/BerylRoses
Summary: “I’ve been quested to return the child to his kind, but it’s been…challenging. Imps have put bounties on our heads and I’ve run out of leads on information to follow. You’re a hell of a pilot, alor’ad, and you’re very obviously a fighter, so…well, I could use a crew member of your abilities.”“Wait…you want me to join your crew?”(Y/N) crosses paths with a Mandalorian and after hiring him for a job he offers her, a former Rebellion smuggler, a place in his crew.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, The Mandalorian/Reader
Comments: 24
Kudos: 104





	1. The Job

_Chapter One  
The Job_

“I wouldn’t go and bother the Mandalorian if I were you, darlin’, he’s crankier than a bantha in heat.”

(Y/N) offered the grizzled old mechanic a small shrug and continued on her way to the weathered _Razor Crest_ at the end of the docking bay, barely making out his mumbled ‘suit yourself’ as she did. If it were any other situation she’d probably heed the old man’s warning and steer clear of the Mandalorian, but in this instance, the unusual stranger was her only hope. Courage over fear, she thought to herself, taking small comfort in her old childhood mantra as she neared the lowered ramp of the ship.

“Hello?” (Y/N) called out. “Is anyone in there?”

“What do you want?”

She jumped and quickly turned around to see the Mandalorian standing before her, his beskar-clad body visibly tense as one hand rested on the blaster strapped to his hip. The shock of his sudden appearance soon gave way to stunned awe; in all her travels, she’d never seen a Mandalorian as intimidating as the one currently staring her down. “Hello there. I was hoping to…well, I wanted to hire you for a job.”

“I’m not looking for any jobs right now.” The Mandalorian gruffly replied, brushing past her to lift a supply box from the ground. “You should try the local cantina; I’m sure someone there could use the work.”

(Y/N)’s brow furrowed and she hurried to follow him onto his ship. “I spent all morning down there and everyone I talked to didn’t want anything to do with me. Not that I blame them, though, I’ve only been on this planet for a week…and the job I’m offering isn’t exactly an easy one…and I only have three hundred credits to-” She broke off when she realized he was staring at her. “What?”

He shook his head, setting the box down before heading back down the ramp. “You want a bit of free advice? A client’s supposed to make a job sound _enticing_. Maybe you’ll have better luck in the next town over, it’s only a couple of hours away on speeder bike and that’ll give you plenty of time to work on your sales pitch.”

Recognizing the sarcasm in the Mandalorian’s modulated voice, (Y/N)’s blood began to boil. “I thought that Mandalorians were supposed to _help_ those in need, not ridicule and make fun of them.” He stopped dead in his tracks, but at that point (Y/N) didn’t care. All she could think of was getting away from the man as soon as possible. “But I guess I’m just naïve, believing in such outlandish fairy tales.” She stormed down the ship’s ramp and past the Mandalorian without giving him a second glance, blinking away her angry tears as she struggled to formulate a new plan.

“Wait!”

(Y/N) glanced over her shoulder to see the Mandalorian hurrying after her but she continued walking away. “Why, so I can let a nerf herder like you insult me some more? No thanks.”

“ _Udesii!_ Wait, just wait a sec…!” He quickly caught up to her and blocked her path, his hands raised to halt her. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me back there. Tell me what the job is and then I’ll decide.”

Still wary of him, (Y/N) exhaled through her nose before answering. “I need someone to steal my possessions back…and I need help ridding this planet of the Black Sun once and for all.”

The Mandalorian’s helmet tilted to the side in obvious shock. “The Black Sun _crime syndicate_? They’re still in operation around these parts?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Since the fall of the Empire, there’s been rumors that some crime syndicates have turned to piracy to stay afloat and under the radar of the New Republic. From what I got out of the locals, the Black Sun conducts raids on their homesteads and whenever they’re feeling particularly bold, occasionally hijack small ships from docking bays. The moment I landed here to refuel, I was ambushed; they took my blaster before I could defend myself and kicked my ass before stealing my ship and leaving me nearly unconscious on the floor.” She swallowed thickly, remembering the grief-stricken faces of the townsfolk she’d spoken to that week. “According to the locals, it’s extremely rare that someone survives an encounter with the Black Sun.” Crossing her arms over her chest, (Y/N) stared down the visor of the Mandalorian’s helmet. “These people have suffered more than anyone should, first under the Empire and now the Black Sun, and I can’t just leave this planet knowing that their suffering will only continue. The two of us working together should be enough to take them down _and_ get my things back; if you turn the job down, though, then I’ll just get myself a blaster and do it myself.”

“That’s a good way of getting yourself killed.” He blocked her path again as she attempted to move around him. “This means that much to you?” There wasn’t any scorn in his tone or even any judgement, only curiosity, and the shift in his attitude was what compelled her to slowly nod her head. “Okay, then, you’ve got yourself a deal. Now, I’m gonna need you to tell me everything you’ve learned about the Black Sun and their operations on this planet…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, the sun was beginning to set as (Y/N) anxiously watched the Mandalorian arm himself for the impending night mission. They’d spent the afternoon formulating a plan to get her possessions back and take down the Black Sun and while he was confident that it would work, (Y/N) couldn’t help but worry as the memory of her attack played in her mind. The Black Sun operatives had been brutal and ruthless during their hijacking, and she had no problem believing that they could’ve easily done far worse to her if they’d truly wanted to. If all the stories are true then a deadly Mandalorian warrior shouldn’t have any problem taking them on, she reminded herself, the thought succeeding in temporarily soothing her nerves.

An affectionate coo pulled (Y/N) out of her silent ruminations, and she glanced down to see the small green child holding a silver sphere out to her as he continued his indistinguishable babbling. “That’s a…that’s a really pretty toy you’ve got there.” She gave the child a small smile but frowned when he showed no signs of stopping. “Um…”

“He wants you to roll it.” When (Y/N) raised a questioning brow at the Mandalorian, he shrugged his shoulders. “He likes to chase after it sometimes.”

“Okay, then.” Carefully lowering herself to the ground, she gently took the sphere from the child’s tiny green hand and rolled it down the length of the ship, stifling a giggle as she watched him chase after it. “The little guy’s pretty fast, isn’t he?”

The Mandalorian snorted. “Fast and up to no good.”

To say that (Y/N) had been surprised to learn that the Mandalorian was caring for a child would be an understatement; it had taken every ounce of self-control she possessed not to gape when the man had introduced her to the wrinkled green child and told her that she’d be watching him for part of the evening while he completed the first half of the mission. She wasn’t exactly the greatest when it came to interacting with children; it wasn’t because she disliked them or anything, but rather because she’d never been around many children before. Maybe things will be different with this little one, she thought to herself as she watched the child waddle back to her with his toy clutched in his hand.

“You sure you’ll be able to fly this thing? A _Razor Crest_ takes some getting used to…”

(Y/N) rolled the sphere again before straightening and giving the Mandalorian a confident nod. “It’s an antique, all right, but lucky for you, I learned to fly using antiquated ships just like this one. And you’re going to be okay getting into the compound by yourself?” Although she couldn’t see his face, she knew that he must’ve been giving her a pointed look from under the helmet. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’…”

He brushed past her and picked the child up off the ground before setting him down inside the ship’s sleeping compartment. “Nap time, you little womp rat. Time to get some rest before all hell breaks loose.”

Wanting to give the two some privacy, (Y/N) busied herself by cleaning up the blaster the Mandalorian had lent her in case of an emergency. Once she was finished, she fastened the holster around her waist and took a brief moment to examine it; the leather holster was well-worn, much like everything else on board the Mandalorian’s ship, but the craftsmanship was undeniably exceptional. I’d give anything to work on a challenge like this, she thought a little wistfully.

“Okay, let’s go over the plan one last time.” She looked up to see the Mandalorian standing before her and a part of her couldn’t help but marvel at how quietly he could move. “I’ll head to the compound on foot and enter just after sunset. Once I plant the bombs and have your possessions, I’ll radio you and that’s when you’ll fly in with the _Crest_. I’ll jet up to the ship with your things while you cover me; based on what the locals told you, they’ve got some heavy weaponry stashed in that compound and I’d rather not give them a chance to use ‘em, so it’s your job to take them out before they can. Then we’ll fly off and detonate the bombs before going into hyperspace.”

She gave him a nod. “And while you’re gone, I’ll boot up the ship’s guns and watch over the child.” The Mandalorian fastened his jet pack to his back and slung a pulse rifle over his shoulder before wordlessly turning to head down the ramp of the ship. Biting her bottom lip, she hesitated a moment before hurrying after him. “Wait!”

The Mandalorian stopped, turning towards her with his helmet tilted a little to the side. “What is it?”

“I just…I wanted to properly thank you for taking this job.” (Y/N) held out her hand to him and gave him a small smile. “And I also wanted to wish you luck.”

Several long moments went by where he only stared silently at her outstretched hand and made no move to take it. Her face flushed with embarrassment and just as she was beginning to lower her hand, the Mandalorian reached forward and firmly grasped it in his own. Surprised, her gaze met his visor and despite not being able to see his eyes, she knew that they were boring into hers. The moment they had shared ended abruptly, with the Mandalorian releasing her hand and quickly exiting the _Razor Crest_ without so much as a backwards glance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Maker, this ship really _is_ an antique,” (Y/N) mumbled, giving a side panel a hard smack and shaking her head in exasperation when the switches’ lights finally blinked on; the Mandalorian had only been gone for a little over a half an hour when his deep voice had come through the ship’s communication radio, much quicker than she’d anticipated; now, she was scrambling to quickly get the old ship into the air to finish the job. “Where’d he find this thing, a Tatooine junkyard?”

“ _I heard that._ ”

She smirked to herself as she flipped a couple of switches and slowly pushed a lever up, the engines immediately whirling to life. “You misunderstood me; just because something’s old and worn doesn’t mean there isn’t value to be found in it. This ship’s been through a lot, that’s true, but…” As the ship had risen far enough off the ground, (Y/N) pushed forward on the joysticks and they instantly flew through the sky. “She’s also got one of the best propulsion engines I’ve ever seen, a lot better than the ones some of the newer ships are built with.”

“ _I’m glad it meets your approval but I could really use an exit right now._ ”

“On it.” (Y/N) replied, increasing the ship’s speed as she weaved it between jagged stone spires. Emerging from the cluster of rock formations, she immediately saw the sprawling compound and the large blaster cannons that had turned towards the ship; tightly gripping the controls, (Y/N) swerved out of the way of the oncoming blaster bolts and quickly returned fire. She managed to hit one on her first pass before smoothly spinning around for another, calling out into the cockpit’s communication radio, “Okay, where are you?”

“ _Southwest corner!_ ”

Adjusting her course, (Y/N) fired off another shot and hit a second blaster cannon before finally spotting the Mandalorian, who was pinned down behind an overturned land speeder and exchanging blaster fire with a handful of heavily-armed Black Sun operatives. She put the ship on autopilot before scrambling down the ladder and slamming her hand down on the nearest control panel; the ship’s side ramp began to slowly lower but she didn’t stick around to watch its progress.

Once she climbed back up the ladder, (Y/N) dropped into the pilot’s chair and buckled herself in just as the remaining blaster cannon fired and hit the _Razor Crest_ ’s left wing, causing the ship to jostle and list on impact. Another sharp jolt came from something landing hard on the lowered ramp and moments later, she could hear it being raised back up; switching back into manual control, (Y/N) yelled out, “If you’re back there then you’d better hang on!” before activating the thrusters and wrenching the joysticks to the left, steering the ship into a rapid corkscrew spin. Her stomach clenched with pent-up adrenaline and just as her vision had begun to blur from dizziness, (Y/N) squeezed the triggers and fired, grinning to herself as the red bolts destroyed the third and final blaster cannon.

(Y/N) pulled the joysticks up, smoothly exiting the turning maneuver, and began firing on the compound as they swooped over it, going so fast that she wasn’t able to see the result of her successful run. Deciding that she’d bought them enough time, she began flipping several switches in preparation for the jump to hyperspace; as she worked, she heard the Mandalorian ascend the ladder into the cockpit and move to stand behind her, and the monitor before her showed the compound exploding in a ball of fire. Neither of them said anything as the ship exited the planet’s upper atmosphere, and she could feel his eyes on the back of her neck when she pushed a lever up and launched them into hyperspace.

“Who are you?”

Furrowing her brow in confusion, (Y/N) turned the pilot’s seat around to face the Mandalorian, who was pointing his blaster pistol at her. She decided that it would be wise not to make any sudden moves, instead keeping her hands resting firmly on the arms of the seat. “Excuse me?”

“The only people who fly like that are bounty hunters and smugglers, so which one is it?”

“…I was a smuggler in the employ of the Rebellion for five years. I was honorably discharged by the New Republic shortly after the Battle of Endor and have been retired ever since.” (Y/N) reluctantly but calmly explained, and she was unsurprised when the Mandalorian’s tense demeanor didn’t change. “I’m not lying to you. If you let me go down and look through my things you retrieved, I’ll even show you some proof.” After a brief moment of hesitation, he nodded and lowered the blaster. “Thank you.”

Descending the ladder, (Y/N)’s gaze immediately landed on the familiar beat-up storage container beside the ship’s carbonite-freezing chamber. In an instant, she dropped onto the ground beside it and began rifling through its contents. Clothing? Check. Sewing kit? Check. Spare blaster? Check. But when she finally located the leather-bound book at the bottom of the container, she closed her eyes and let out a shaky sigh of relief. Thank the Maker, I didn’t lose it, she thought to herself. The modulated sound of a throat being cleared jostled her out of her moment of calm; she opened her eyes and glanced over to see the Mandalorian leaning up against the wall of the ship, still holding his blaster. “Oh, sorry, here…” She reached into the pocket of one of her coats, pulled out her old identification puck and handed it over to him.

He activated the puck and they watched as a hologram of her face and rank flickered on. “Captain (Y/N) (Y/L/N), Rebel Smuggler.” Returning her puck, the Mandalorian finally relaxed his stance and holstered the weapon. “Sorry about all that but in my line of work…”

“It’s okay, I understand.” (Y/N) got to her feet and walked over to the armory to return her borrowed blaster and holster. “You’re hardly the first person to pull a blaster on me and I doubt you’ll be the last.”

The Mandalorian crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to watch her. “Well, _alor’ad_ , that was some pretty good flying…for an ex-smuggler, that is.”

(Y/N) raised a brow in surprise, both at the nickname and at the playful jab. Was he, the intimidating Mandalorian warrior, actually teasing her? She glanced over at him with a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Ah, the galaxy’s age-old debate: which are the better pilots, smugglers or bounty hunters? It’s a little sad that there’s still bounty hunters out there who’ve diluted themselves into thinking they’re as good as smugglers.”

“As an ex-bounty hunter myself, I take offense to that. If I had access to another ship, I’d challenge you to a race right now but fortunately for you, I don’t.”

“Well, in my experience, bounty hunters are all talk and no action, so I’d say that _you’re_ the fortunate one, not me.” Grinning triumphantly, (Y/N) couldn’t suppress her amused giggles any longer as he merely shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. Once her laughter died down, she reached into the pocket of her tunic and pulled out her money bag. “Three hundred New Republic credits, as promised.” In an instant, the good mood dissipated from the ship; he easily caught the money bag and pushed himself off the wall, his stoic stance returning as he gave her a short nod. She returned her attention to the open armory, feeling incredibly awkward as she continued. “I already input the coordinates to the nearest friendly planet, Batuu. We should be there in less than two hours and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Yeah…yeah, of course. I’ll, um…I’ll be in the cockpit, if you need anything.”

She heard the Mandalorian make his way back up the ladder and when she was sure he was gone, she finally released the breath she’d been holding. She’d enjoyed working alongside the Mandalorian so much that she’d nearly forgotten that it was a temporary arrangement. Once they landed on Batuu they’d part ways; she’d find work somewhere on the planet and he’d go off on his next adventure. Well, it was fun while it lasted, she thought to herself as she moved to sit beside her open storage container, trying not to dwell on the fact that she hadn’t felt that alive since her old Rebel days.

Giving her head a small shake, (Y/N) turned her attention back to her things and began thoroughly going through them to see if anything might be missing. Her task was soon interrupted, though, by the sound of a small coo; glancing around, she noticed the green child waddling towards her, his large eyes filled with curiosity. “Oh, hey there, little guy. Did you have a good nap?”

The child made another babbling noise that didn’t sound quite as happy as the first had been, which made (Y/N) bite back a smile. “Yeah, I’m sorry if I woke you with all the spinning. But it was worth it; an entire planet’s finally free to live in peace and I got all my stuff back, see?” She watched the child’s ears perk up with interest as he slowly made his way towards the small pile of clothing and other items; he soon became interested in her brown ankle-length Shaak-hide coat, running a tiny clawed hand over the soft leather. “You like that? It’s really comfortable to wear, and…”

Trailing off, (Y/N) was suddenly struck with inspiration. “I have just the perfect thing in mind for you, little guy.” She smiled as she gently took the coat from his grasp and reached for her sewing kit. “And I think you’re gonna like it…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just as (Y/N) had predicted, the journey to Batuu was relatively short and uneventful; the child had quickly grown disinterested with her project, choosing to slowly climb up the ladder to where the Mandalorian was busy piloting. She didn’t mind, though, silently reveling in the peacefulness of her task that she knew others would find mundane. Finishing up just as the _Razor Crest_ began its descent, she managed to carefully hide her completed work behind her back before the Mandalorian began climbing down the ladder.

They made their way down the ramp, carrying her storage container between the two of them. “Here we are: Black Spire Outpost.” The Mandalorian set the container down, his gloved hands hanging stiffly by his sides. “I guess this is it.”

“Yeah. Before I go, I…well, I wanted to give you something. It’s actually for the little guy, but I thought I’d give it to you.” Anxiously biting her bottom lip, (Y/N) handed him the small bundle and watched as he began unraveling it. “It’s a satchel, so you can carry him around with you whenever he gets too tired to walk. I used a part of one of my old coats to sew it; the little guy liked how soft it was and I wanted him to be comfortable. I noticed his pram on the ship but I thought he might like to travel in this, too.”

The Mandalorian stared down at the satchel in his hands for several long moments before looking back up at her. “That’s…very kind of you, _alor’ad_. I’m sure he’ll like it.”

(Y/N) noticed the child making his way down the ramp and smiled. “I think so, too.” Returning her gaze to the visor of his helmet, her smile fell a little. “Well, I guess I’ll see you two around.” She turned, hiking her bag over her shoulder and reaching down to grab her storage container’s handle as she tried to ignore the melancholy feeling blossoming in the pit of her stomach.

“Wait.”

She straightened and spun back around to face the Mandalorian. “Yes?”

“I’ve been quested to return the child to his kind, but it’s been… _challenging_. Imps have put bounties on our heads and I’ve run out of leads on information to follow. You’re a hell of a pilot, _alor’ad_ , and you’re very obviously a fighter, so…well, I could use a crew member of your abilities.”

“Wait…you want _me_ to join your crew?”

The Mandalorian nodded. “I can pay you handsomely. It would be a completely equal partnership as well, as far as the workload goes. But I understand if you refuse; you’ve worked hard for a quiet life after the Rebellion and it would be unfair to ask you to abandon it.”

“You see, the thing about living a quiet life is that after a while, you find yourself hoping that something’ll come along to liven it up,” (Y/N) remarked, a smile slowly beginning to form on her face. “And it looks like today’s that day. I’m in.” They shook hands for the second time that day, but this one felt much more natural. “So, partner, what should I call you? I know that people usually call Mandalorians ‘Mando’ but it’s always sounded a bit like a slur to me and the last thing I wanna do is insult my new business partner, so what would you like me to call you?”

His helmet’s modulator made it difficult to tell, but she thought she heard him let out a chuckle. “You can call me ‘Mando.’ Welcome to the crew, _alor’ad_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Udessi!-Calm down, take it easy  
> Alor'ad-Captain


	2. The Captain

_Chapter Two  
The Captain_

Din Djarin wasn’t exactly an impulsive man. If given the opportunity, he preferred to approach every situation with a healthy dose of caution and strategy, shying away from brash recklessness whenever he possibly could; it was once how he’d become one of the Outer Rim’s most skilled bounty hunters and how he’d recently been able to protect the child on his quest. So, when he’d asked the ex-smuggler, his _client_ , to join his crew after only knowing her for a handful of hours, he’d surprised even himself with the spur-of-the-moment decision. He hadn’t traveled with a crew in years, not since his days as a mercenary, but what he said earlier had been correct: if he was going to successfully complete his quest to return the child to his kind, then he needed some help to do it.

But what made you choose her, Din asked himself as he curiously watched (Y/N) sew, out of all the people who’ve helped you so far, why did you ask _her_ to stay? Maybe it was because she confused him; her demeanor was fierce yet gentle, she could pilot a ship through heavy blaster fire better than any Corellian hot-head but could also be content with quietly sewing on the floor of his ship, and her attitude was outmatched only by her thoughtfulness. But as he observed her from where he stood beside his sleeping compartment, it dawned on him that it was because deep-down, they shared something in common: loneliness.

“You know, I may not be able to see your eyes but I _can_ feel you staring at me.” (Y/N) quipped, looking up from her work with a smile. “What is it?”

“We’ve been flying for a few hours now and since I don’t know when you last slept, I wanted to show you your bunk.” Din explained, grimacing at the half-truth; that _was_ originally why he’d come down from the cockpit, but then the sight of the captain peacefully sewing had distracted him. He turned and pressed a button on the control panel, the compartment’s door opening as (Y/N) got up and stood beside him. “The child usually sleeps in the hammock, but he won’t disturb you; he’s a heavy sleeper.”

Instead of thanking him, (Y/N) frowned. “But isn’t this where you sleep?”

Din shrugged. “It’s fine, I’ll rest in the cockpit from now on-”

“And give yourself perpetual backaches?” She countered, her brow raised in skepticism. “I’ll make up a cot for myself out here and you can keep your bed.” Her firm expression morphed into amusement as she made her way back to her storage container and began rifling through its contents. “Besides, as far as this crew goes you’ve got the seniority; this is, after all, _your_ ship, Captain.”

He smirked, leaning against the wall of the ship and crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s my ship but I’m no captain. You, on the other hand…”

“So what I hear you saying is that since I’m technically a captain, I outrank you even on your own ship?”

Biting back a snort of amusement at her teasing, Din shook his head and pointed a warning finger at her. “Watch it, _alor’ad_ , I don’t tolerate insubordination in my crew.” (Y/N)’s head snapped up and her grin instantly fell, and he quickly realized that she’d taken him seriously. “No, no, I was just…! That was…that was meant to be a joke.”

Comprehension dawned on the captain’s face. “Oh…It’s a little hard to tell if you’re joking or not ‘cause of the…” She made a vague gesture over her face before clearing her throat and turning back to her storage container, obviously embarrassed by her action. Din couldn’t blame her, though, as his own face was flushed bright-red under his helmet. “But yeah, I’ll be okay sleeping out here, Mando.”

He nodded, unsure of what to say until his gaze landed on the garment she’d been working on before he interrupted. “So, is sewing a hobby of yours?”

“More like my life’s passion; my mother was a seamstress and she began teaching me her trade when I was around six.” (Y/N) smiled fondly, her earlier awkwardness long-gone; she pulled out a collapsible cot and got to her feet. “I’ve been hooked ever since. I even make my own clothes, since loose fabric is less expensive these days, but not shoes; I buy those already made.”

“What planet did you grow up on?”

The captain unfolded the cot and secured its legs before sitting down on its end. “Naboo. On that planet, fashion is considered an art form just like painting or dancing, and the mark of an accomplished seamstress is the ability to tell a story with a single piece of clothing. I left the planet when I was twelve, before I could begin an apprenticeship, and since I was so young when I left I know very little about my people’s customs and traditions.” Din nodded in understanding, knowing first-hand how difficult that sort of loss was, and (Y/N) let out a sigh. “I’m grateful for the knowledge I have, though.” She looked over at him a small smile. “Enough sad talk; we should discuss this quest of ours. You said that your information trail has gone cold?”

“Yes. I was instructed to locate other Mandalorians if I needed assistance, but there are very few of my kind and the ones who have survived live in well-hidden coverts.”

(Y/N) bit her bottom lip, something Din inferred was a nervous tick of hers. “There might be someone who can help, but you’re not going to like what I tell you about him.”

He frowned under his helmet. “Who?”

“A man named Gor Koresh. He’s a notorious gambler who mostly bets on ring fights, but I’ve heard some rumors that he also collects beskar. And as far as I know, beskar these days mostly comes from-”

“Mandalorian armor.” Din growled, fists tightening in anger. “He harvests Mandalorians for their beskar. Do you know where this man is?”

Once Din gave (Y/N) a tour of the cockpit and they charted their course to Koresh’s last known location, (Y/N) took over piloting while he took the child down so the two of them could get some rest. The child, however, had other plans; he cooed and babbled, gesturing towards the ladder as Din opened the sleeping compartment.

“I know that you like the nice lady but we need to sleep, kid. She’ll still be here when we wake up.” Din gently placed the child in his hammock and sighed in exasperation when his protests only continued. “I already told you, buddy, it’s naptime.” Noticing the child pointing at something, Din turned and raised an eyebrow when he saw the satchel (Y/N) had made for them. “You want the satchel?” The child squealed in delight so Din retrieved it and carefully rolled it into a bundle before tucking it into the hammock, watching as he snuggled closer to it and closed his eyes.

I guess he really _does_ like that bag, Din thought to himself as he climbed into the sleeping compartment. After turning off the lights and making sure the child was asleep, he took his helmet off for the first time that day; sighing in relief, he ran a hand through his flattened hair and took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the ship’s cool air on his face. As he laid there in his bunk, Din’s mind drifted to his earlier conversation with his brand-new crew member.

(Y/N) was from Naboo, which explained the Mid-Rim accent he’d detected when she was yelling at him during their first meeting, and from the way she’d spoken about her home planet, it sounded as if she’d had a difficult childhood that was similar to his. But how the hell did a Naboo seamstress become a smuggler for the Rebel Alliance, he silently wondered, and what exactly did she smuggle for them?

Taking in a final breath of unfiltered air, Din put his helmet back on and made himself as comfortable as he could, quickly falling asleep with the image of the captain’s curved smile fresh in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain


	3. The Fights

_Chapter Three  
The Fights_

While she initiated the ship’s landing sequence, (Y/N) took a moment to glance out the cockpit’s viewport and let out a low whistle. “Yep, just as seedy as I imagined it would be.” She looked over at the Mandalorian standing beside her with a brow raised in curiosity. “Have you been to this planet before?”

“Once, when I first started working with the Guild. It’s rougher than it looks, which is why we’re gonna bring the kid along with us.” The ship landed smoothly and he followed her down the ladder to the armory. “How do you think we should do this?”

(Y/N), who had begun fastening her blaster holster around her waist, glanced up in surprise; since their partnership was only a little over a week old, she hadn’t expected him to give her the opportunity to formulate a plan. Maybe this is some sort of a test, she silently reasoned, so he can see what I can and can’t do. Recovering from her shock, her eyes met the Mandalorian’s visor as she replied, “I go in first and scope the place out for Koresh, then you and the kid follow. That way if things get dicey, I’ll be there as backup and his goons won’t suspect that we’re working together.”

Mando nodded. “Good, that’s what I was thinking.” He tucked a vibro-knife into his boot before straightening and pointing at her blaster. “You any good with that?”

“Of course I am, I’m an ex-smuggler.” (Y/N) playfully retorted, tugging on one of her longer coats and checking to see if it covered her blaster before smiling despite herself. “It’s when I’m disarmed that I start having some problems; as evident in my altercation with the Black Sun, I’m not exactly the best at hand-to-hand combat.”

“Good thing you’ve got an ex-bounty hunter onboard to teach you, _alor’ad_.”

Rolling her eyes at his quip, (Y/N) reached into the open armory and tucked a vibro-blade into her own boot. She stood and accepted the comm link the Mandalorian held out to her, placing it in her ear and brushing her hair over to cover it up. “Okay, it looks like I’m good to go. Is there anything else I should know before going?”

“Yeah, stay on the main road and stick close to the street lamps.”

He didn’t elaborate on his statement, so she just nodded and made her way down the ship’s lowered ramp. Walking down the long stretch of road, it wasn’t long before she understood why Mando had issued his warning; glowing red eyes began appearing in the shadows on either side of the road, but it seemed as though the dim street lamps were the only things keeping the creatures away from her. Her blood ran cold at the thought and she quickened her pace, reaching the large building at the end of the road in no time.

A large Twi’lek stood in the doorway, his tightly arms crossed over his chest. As (Y/N) approached him, she kept her face impassive and empty of emotion. “I’m here to place some bets.”

The Twi’lek’s eyes scrutinized hers and after several tension-filled moments, he moved to the side and held his arm out towards the doorway. “Enjoy the fights.”

(Y/N) gave him a nod and she walked inside, taking in the exuberant crowd and their deafening cheers as they watched the two Gamorrean fighters at the center of the room. Weaving her way through the rowdy people, she stopped at the bar and ordered herself a glass of spotchka. “Excuse me, bartender, but where can I find Gor Koresh? I’d like to place a bet and I hear that he’s a hell of a gambler…”

The bartender handed her the glass and pointed across the room. “Over there.”

Thanking her, (Y/N) paid for her drink and moved to lean against the wall; the Abyssin was seated in the front row, quietly watching the fight along with four stoic men. They couldn’t be any more obvious, she thought to herself, downing her glass of spotchka before reaching up and activating her comm link. “Come in, Mando.”

“ _What’ve you got?_ ”

Careful not to be spotted, (Y/N) relayed everything she’d gathered to her partner: a description of Koresh, the number of bodyguards stationed in the arena, and how heavily-armed each of them were. Not long after, she spotted the Mandalorian making his way through the crowd with the child’s pram floating alongside him. She had a clear view of the two of them from her spot by the wall, and she watched as he seated himself beside Koresh; they talked for several minutes until suddenly, Koresh shot down one of the Gamorrean fighters. The crowd scattered, hurrying to the exits as the one-eyed man and his bodyguards all pointed their blasters at Mando’s helmeted head.

(Y/N) ducked behind the nearby bar and pulled out her blaster, peeking around the corner as their voices filled the now-empty arena.

“Thank you for coming to me. Normally, I have to seek out remnants of you Mandalorians, in your hidden hives, to harvest your shiny shells. Beskar’s value continues to rise, and I’ve grown quite fond of it. Give it to me now or I will peel it off your corpse.”

The Mandalorian stayed completely still as he calmly retorted, “Tell me where the Mandalorians are and I’ll walk out of here without killing you.”

Koresh sneered. “I thought you said you weren’t a gambler.”

Raising an impressed brow, (Y/N) watched as Mando subtly flexed his wrist and activated what he’d called ‘whistling birds’ to start glowing. Her grip on her blaster tightened in anticipation as the child closed the lid of his pram and Mando finally spoke. “I’m not.”

In an instant, the whistling birds launched into the air and quickly found their targets; the four dead bodyguards fell to the ground as the Mandalorian kicked the child’s pram out of harm’s way and began fighting off the surviving Gamorrean and the Twi’lek from the entrance. (Y/N) raised her blaster and prepared to help him, but she became distracted by a group of guards hurrying across the arena in the direction of the child.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” (Y/N) muttered, firing off a shot and hitting one man in the neck. The remaining guards immediately aimed their blasters in her direction and began firing; she ducked back behind the bar and waited a moment before jumping to her feet and firing off three quick shots. All three remaining guards dropped to the ground, each having been shot clean through the heart, and the child’s pram remained in its place.

Climbing over the bar, (Y/N) hurried to the pram just in time to see Mando throw his vibro-blade and hit the last man standing directly in his chest. His helmet turned to her and they both looked over to see Koresh hurry through one of the arena’s exits; looking back at Mando, she watched as he pulled his vibro-blade out of the dead man’s chest and followed alongside the pram as he went through the same exit. Both she and the pram emerged onto the street just in time to watch Mando string Koresh up onto the street lamp by his ankles.

“All right, stop, stop! I’ll tell you where he is.” With her blaster still in hand, (Y/N) moved to stand beside Mando as Koresh continued to stammer in fear. “But you must both promise you won’t kill me.”

“I promise you will not die by my hand, or hers.” Mando slowly declared, and (Y/N) was quick to bite back her smirk. She wasn’t stupid; she’d observed just how much her explanation of Koresh’s business dealings had affected him, so it was fairly obvious what he was planning on doing with the one-eyed man. “Now, where is the Mandalorian you know of?”

“Tatooine!”

Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) noticed Mando stiffen. “What?”

“The Mando I know of is on _Tatooine_!”

“I’ve spent much time on Tatooine; I have never seen a Mandalorian there.”

Koresh continued to swing by the whipcord as he angrily replied, “My information is good, I tell you! The city of Mos Pelgo, I swear it by the Gotra!”

(Y/N) and Mando both looked away from Koresh at the same time; she shrugged a shoulder and holstered her blaster, wordlessly telling the Mandalorian that Koresh’s information was worth investigating. Mando nodded and glanced back at Koresh. “Tatooine it is, then.” They both began walking away from the one-eyed man.

“Wait, Mando! Lady! You can’t leave me like this, cut me down!”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.” Mando pulled out his blaster and shot out the street lamp, plunging that section of the road into darkness; he holstered the weapon and gestured for her to follow him as Koresh continued his shouts of protest; they were quickly joined by the growling of the creatures that approached him.

“Wait, what are you doing? Mando, I can pay! Mando…Mando!”

By the time that they reached the _Razor Crest_ , Gor Koresh’s screams had faded into nothing and (Y/N) silently thanked the Maker; there was no denying that the one-eyed man had deserved his fate, but she would’ve preferred not to hear it happen. I’ve heard too many sounds of death in my relatively-short lifetime, she somberly thought as she took the child out of his pram and followed the Mandalorian up into the cockpit. He had already seated himself in the pilot’s seat, so she sat herself down on the seat to his right and held the cooing child in her lap; moments later, the ship rose from the ground and soon, they were traveling through hyperspace.

“Do you think I was wrong to leave Koresh for dead?”

(Y/N) looked up in surprise; his helmet was still facing forward, but she could see that his hands had tightened around the ship’s joysticks. “No. For what he did to countless Mandalorians, he deserved exactly what he got.”

“Then why did you look sickened when I did it?”

Mando’s modulated voice was gruff and accusatory. With a small sigh, (Y/N) ran a hand over the child’s wrinkled green head and hesitantly replied, “Because…when you’ve been through everything I’ve been through, and seen the things I’ve seen…even the dying words of an enemy can have some effect on you.”

The cockpit was silent for several long moments, until he turned the pilot’s seat around to face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to relive any painful memories-”

“It’s okay, Mando. Like I said, he got what he deserved.” She flashed him a small smile before gesturing to the ship’s guidance system. “At least we have some sort of idea of where to go now; Tatooine should be nice and sunny this time of year, don’t you think?”

Mando chuckled at her terrible joke. “Very funny, _alor’ad_. Why don’t you get some rest while I watch the kid?” He reached over and took the child from her lap, and when she made no move to stand, he let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not gonna get much sleep when we land on Tatooine, you know, so you should get it while you can…”

“That’s true.” Relenting, (Y/N) got up from her seat and muffled her reluctant yawn. “Wake me up if you need any help, okay?” He nodded, and she turned to exit the cockpit.

“You did good tonight, _alor’ad_.”

(Y/N) glanced back at Mando, who had already spun his seat back around to face forward, and the corners of her mouth raised into a smile at his compliment. “You too, Mando.” Giving him a final look, she turned and made her way down the ladder; she stored her weapons in the armory before kicking off her boots and crawling into her makeshift bed, quickly falling asleep. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the gentle rocking of the ship or the soothing presence the Mandalorian exuded, but (Y/N) couldn’t remember having a single nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain


	4. The Marshal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried researching more on Naboo culture but Wookiepedia failed me, so here's me making some stuff up for the sake of this fic lol enjoy!

_Chapter Four  
The Marshal_

“Sorry, gang! C’mon, you know he doesn’t like droids!”

As he walked down the ship’s extended ramp, Din couldn’t help but smirk as Peli ordered the pit droids around; after their first memorable encounter, he’d made it a point to stop by the snarky mechanic’s hangar for repairs whenever he was near Tatooine. “May as well let them have at it,” He called out, giving his run-down ship a brief glance as he walked. “The _Crest_ needs a good once-over.”

Peli raised her arms in exasperation. “Oh, so he _likes_ droids now! Well, you heard him; give it a once-over!” The pit droids immediately began following orders, and she turned back to Din with a smile. “I guess a lot has changed since you were last in Mos-” She stopped and gasped in delight when he adjusted the satchel (Y/N) had made and revealed the child. “Oh, thank the _Force_!”

As she grabbed the child out of the satchel and began fawning over him, Din glanced back at the ramp to see (Y/N) emerge from the ship. She’d changed into more appropriate attire for the desert planet; a sleeveless tan shirt and dark trousers tucked into a pair of sturdy boots, over which she’d draped a hooded cowl. At his request, she’d also strapped her blaster to her hip and slung one of his blaster rifles over her shoulder; even in the durable desert clothing, she still exuded an air of elegance and if he didn’t already know a little of her background, he’d wonder if she was a princess in disguise. Before she could see that he’d been staring, Din turned his attention back to Peli; he raised a brow when she jokingly offered to buy the child off of him, then broke out into an amused grin when she immediately began yelling at her droids. “Oh, you’ve got some company now. Who’s she?”

“This is (Y/N), my newest crew member.” Din replied as the captain came to a stop beside him. “(Y/N), this is Peli, the mechanic I was telling you about.”

(Y/N) smiled and offered the bemused mechanic her hand to shake. “Hello, Peli, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Well, now, look at that, someone with manners!” Peli held the child in one hand and shook (Y/N)’s with the other. “Maybe you could teach Mando here a few; the first time we met, he tried to shoot one of my droids!”

“He _is_ a little rough around the edges, isn’t he?”

Din rolled his eyes at their mild teasing and cleared his throat. “We’re here on business and we could use your help.”

Peli nodded. “Oh, then, business you shall have.”

Din launched into their tale, explaining that in order to fulfill their quest to bring the child to his kind, they needed to chart a path through the network of Mandalorian coverts; after learning from the mechanic and her R5 unit that the city of Mos Pelgo had been razed by bandits, he made the decision that their best course of action was to take a speeder bike to the remnants of the mining settlement. Peli allowed them to borrow hers, leading them to where it was before hurrying back into the hangar to supervise the pit droids as they worked.

The two of them made quick work of loading their supplies onto the speeder, and Din carefully secured the child’s satchel to the side of the bike. He furrowed his brow when he noticed (Y/N) swing her leg over the bike and seat herself in the driver’s seat. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

“What’s it look like I’m doing?” She gestured for him to seat himself behind her and when he didn’t move, she raised her brow at him. “You piloted us all the way here, even when I offered to take over and let you rest. Weren’t you the one that said, ‘It would be a completely equal partnership as well, as far as the workload goes,’” she recited in a near-perfect imitation of his modulated voice. Unable to argue with her point, Din let out a sigh of exasperation before climbing onto the speeder bike behind her. “What, afraid I’m gonna crash into a bantha or something?”

“Well, smugglers _have_ been known to do that from time to time, _alor’ad_.” He replied dryly, resting his gloved hands on either side of her waist as he struggled to keep his voice even; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d touched someone who wasn’t a friend or a bounty, and the realization was making it a little difficult for him to focus. “Bounty hunters haven’t, though.”

(Y/N) chuckled and slipped on her goggles. “Oh, of course they haven’t. You’d better hold on tight, Mando; an ex-bounty hunter like you might not be able to handle just how fast ex-smugglers like to go.”

As it turned out, (Y/N) _really_ enjoyed going fast; they journeyed across the Dune Sea at breakneck speed, with the captain occasionally jumping their speeder bike over high sand dunes. Din couldn’t see her face, but he knew that if he could he’d see a broad smile stretched across it. He hadn’t known her for very long, and yet he knew that she wasn’t trying to show off or prove a point; she enjoyed the freeing feeling that came from driving a speeder bike, just as she enjoyed piloting ships through hostile situations. It looks like she’s not the only one who likes it, he thought with amusement as he glanced down to see the child’s cheerful face poking out of the satchel and his large ears fluttering in the wind; Din couldn’t deny that even he was having a little fun as well.

When the twin suns began to lower in the sky, Din spotted a Tusken camp off in the distance; raising his voice so that she’d hear him over the noise, he said, “There’s a camp coming up; we can stop to rest for the night but when we get there, follow my lead. Okay?”

“Got it!” (Y/N) yelled back, reducing their speed as they came upon the camp. “It looks like we’ve got a welcoming party…”

The speeder bike soon came to a stop and Din was the first one off; he slowly approached the nearest Tusken and raised a hand in greeting before explaining their situation using a mixture of grunts and hand gestures.

_“Greetings. My friends and I would like to borrow some lodging for the night.”_

The Tusken male nodded his head. _“All three of you are welcome to join us at our campfire. You cannot eat before us, but your companions can; they will be generously fed and watered.”_

_“Thank you. What payment would you accept for such gracious hospitality?”_

_“Stories of your adventures, of worlds beyond Tatooine. That is all.”_

Nodding, Din turned back to (Y/N); she had already secured the child’s satchel over her shoulders and was standing beside the speeder bike, her face impassive but her eyes betraying her astonishment. “We’ll stay here for the night, _alor’ad_.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tuskens led them to a tent at the edge of their camp, leaving them alone to unpack their things as they went off to tend to their banthas and begin cooking dinner. Din watched (Y/N) while she knelt and worked to set up her bedroll, and he could tell by her silence that she was debating whether or not to say something to him; knowing how people usually reacted to the Tuskens, he assumed that it would be some sort of warning about them and was prepared to counter her when she finally spoke.

“Where did you learn how to speak Tusken?”

The question threw Din off for a moment. “Excuse me?”

“You speak Tusken, Mando! That’s such a difficult language to learn but you speak it so well; did you learn here on Tatooine?” (Y/N) asked, her face illuminated by excitement. “I’m honestly a little jealous, ‘cause all I know is a little Huttese and some droid.”

“Wait, you’re not…you’re okay with spending the night at a Tusken camp?”

The captain nodded. “I know that many people on Tatooine hold backwards ideas about Tuskens and their culture, of course, but I’ve never agreed with any of them. The situation here has always reminded me a little of Naboo; long before I was born, the Naboo and the Gungans were bitter rivals until their rulers were finally able to negotiate a lasting peace.” She smiled to herself. “When I was little, my best friend was a Gungan; if our two people hadn’t reconciled and brought about the Great Time of Peace, then I never would’ve known her. Granted, the situation _here’s_ a little more difficult, but the solution could yield the same results.”

“Yeah…yeah, I agree. Others should learn to value cultures that aren’t their own.” Tearing his baffled gaze away from her, he knelt and began setting up his own bedroll; if there were more people in the galaxy who thought like (Y/N), he thought firmly, then we wouldn’t be in trouble all the damn time. “I learned how to speak Tusken in my Covert, from one of the older Mandalorians. I was young when I learned, and that made it easier for me to master the language; other languages, too, for that matter.”

The corner of (Y/N)’s mouth curved into a smile. “So, which language is your nickname for me? _Alor’ad_?”

Din watched with widened eyes as she took the child out of the satchel and set him down on the bedroll; he hadn’t meant for the word to become a nickname and he certainly hadn’t expected her to pick up on it so easily. “That’s Mando’a. It’s not an insult, in case you were wondering; _alor’ad_ means ‘captain’ and…well, that’s what you are. Would you prefer that I not-?”

“No, no, it’s okay!” (Y/N) hastily interjected, looking over at him as her face reddened. “I, um…I like it. It’s a nice nickname.” She glanced back down at the child, who was tugging on the edge of her cowl, then up at him with a smile. “I think the little guy might be hungry; we should probably go and see what our hosts are cooking up, partner.”

They finished setting up their tent before heading over to the Tusken’s campfire, where the four of them were already sitting. Once Din and (Y/N) joined them, one of the Tuskens held out a small green object and broke it open with his gloved hands before letting out a mixture of grunts and growls. Din answered him and nodded, watching as the Tusken then handed the object to (Y/N).

“It’s water. He wants you to drink it as a sign of peace and good faith.” Nodding, (Y/N) brought the object to her lips and drank all its contents, keeping her face remarkably neutral as the liquid’s harsh odor surrounded them. The Tusken expressed his thanks and took the object back from the captain, returning his attention back to the campfire. “He thanked you, and he said that you’re now an honored friend of his clan.”

“Can you tell him that I appreciate it, please?” (Y/N) asked, her smile widening as he grunted and signed her message with his hands.

The Tuskens were indeed very generous hosts; once (Y/N) had accepted their offering, they made sure that she and the child had eaten their fill of food. Din watched with an amused smirk as the child enjoyed his portion of roasted womp rat, still baffled that such a small creature could eat so much food. While the two of them ate Din conversed with the Tuskens, telling them tales of his most recent adventures as they eagerly listened.

_“And what of your friend? Where does she come from?”_

_“Naboo.”_ Din replied and gestured in her direction; beside him, (Y/N) furrowed her brow in confusion. _“She’s a veteran of the Rebellion.”_

The four Tuskens all grunted in excitement, and one of them leaned closer to them. _“We have heard tales of The Naboo and their culture of the arts; it is rumored that their wordless songs can convey a lifetime of stories. Can your friend sing one for us?”_

_“I’ll ask, but she was young when she left the planet. She might not remember the songs of her ancestors.”_

“You’d better not be telling them any lies about me, Mando.” (Y/N) quipped, looking over at him with inquisitive eyes. “What’re they saying?”

“They’re wondering if you could sing a traditional song of your people for them.”

The captain nodded. “Of course, just let me think of…oh, I’ve got one! Can you tell them that the song’s about friendship? I think they’ll appreciate it more if they know.” She smiled in thanks as he relayed her message, then took a deep breath. “I haven’t sung a song of Naboo in years, so here goes nothing.”

After a moment’s hesitation, (Y/N) opened her mouth and began to sing a hauntingly beautiful tune. Her clear notes filled the air, as if gliding along the desert’s slight breeze, and as he listened, Din began to inadvertently think of the friends and companions he’d made across the galaxy over the years. The rumors about the wordless songs appear to be true, he distractedly thought, his focus entirely on the captain and her song. At his feet, the child softly cooed and the Tuskens silently listened as her song continued, finally ending with a single long note that hung in the air long after she stopped singing.

(Y/N) fidgeted in her seat, obviously self-conscious by the way they all stared at her. “Um, yeah, that’s all I remember…”

The Tuskens all began loudly grunting and growling their praises, gesturing with their hands in her direction. Din glanced over at her, his smile hidden underneath his helmet. “They enjoyed it very much, and they say that your voice is a gift.” (Y/N) ducked her head in embarrassment and Din couldn’t stop himself as he blurted out, “I thought it was very beautiful.”

Her face flushed scarlet, the captain had a difficult time hiding her wide smile from the campfire. As the evening went on and the twin suns finally set, all Din could think was that his partner’s bright smile could illuminate even the darkest desert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, they packed up their supplies and bid their hosts goodbye, thanking them for their hospitality; Din’s heart warmed a little as he watched (Y/N) slowly but surely mimic his hand gestures in an attempt to convey her own thanks to the Tuskens, and he knew that their hosts had appreciated her thoughtfulness. How the hell did a woman like her become a Rebel smuggler, he found himself wondering again as they sped over the sands of Tatooine, thinking back to the captain’s beautiful song.

“If I was driving, then we’d already be there by now.” (Y/N) grumbled from behind him, her arms tightening slightly around his waist as she tried adjusting in her seat.

“I thought that this partnership was supposed to be equal, _alor’ad_.” He jokingly retorted, using her own argument against her in a way that he knew she’d be rolling her eyes at. “You drove yesterday, and I drive today. It’s only fair.”

Although the sound of the speeder bike was loud, Din could make out her huff of annoyance and he couldn’t help but chuckle. It was around midday when they finally reached Mos Pelgo, the speeder slowing to a crawl as they reached the derelict town’s main road; several people emerged from their houses and watched their progress with suspicious eyes, but Din kept his focus on the road before them. He brought the speeder bike to a halt in front of what looked to be the town’s cantina, getting off the bike and waiting for (Y/N) and the child before leading them into the cantina.

He walked over to the bar, where the Weequay bartender had stopped his task to watch his movement, and leaned against the surface as he timidly asked, “Can I help you?”

“My friend and I are looking for a Mandalorian.”

The bartender’s eyes flicked over to (Y/N) beside him before answering. “We don’t get many visitors in these parts. Can you describe him?”

“Someone who looks like me.”

“You mean the Marshal?”

Din’s brow rose in surprise; Mandalorians didn’t usually take up such prominent positions within a community. Before he had a chance to, (Y/N) skeptically asked, “Your marshal wears Mandalorian armor?”

He gestured towards the doorway as he shrugged. “See for yourself.”

Both Din and (Y/N) turned around to see a man dressed in Mandalorian armor standing in the cantina’s open doorway. The armor looked worse for wear, with large dents and scratches, and it didn’t quite fit the man as well as it should; it was clear to see, though, that it was indeed the armor of a Mandalorian.

The man slowly walked forward and came to a stop before them. “What brings you folks here?”

“We’ve been searching for you for many parsecs.”

“Well, now you two found me. Weequay,” The man moved closer to the bar and gestured to the bartender. “Three snorts of spotchka.” At the man’s words, Din felt his blood run cold; a real Mandalorian would never share a drink with another in the middle of the cantina, even if he kept his helmet on. His body tensed and he could see (Y/N) shooting him a look of confusion as she set the squirming child on the ground, but he remained silent, watching the armored man accept the jug of spotchka and three glasses. “Why don’t you two join me for a drink?”

Neither of them made a move to join the man as he set the jug and glasses on one of the tables; just as the man was sitting down, Din stepped forward to speak but stopped dead in his tracks, watching in silent outrage as the man took off his helmet and set it beside him. The man had greying hair and a weathered face partially obscured by a short beard, and his eyes were narrowed as he examined Din. “I’ve never met a real Mandalorian. Heard stories…I know you’re good at killin’.” The man shrugged and began pouring out a drink. “And probably none too happy to see me wearing this hardware.”

He’s correct on that count, Din thought angrily. After their encounter with Gor Koresh, the thought of someone stripping the armor off a dead Mandalorian and wearing it as his own made Din’s blood boil.

“I figure only one of us is walkin’ out of here.” Din didn’t answer, but he silently agreed with the man’s prediction. He watched as the man’s gaze left him and drifted over to (Y/N) with a grin that made Din’s jaw clench tightly. “But then I see the lady and the little guy and I think, maybe I pegged you wrong.” The man tore his eyes away from the captain and the child to look back at Din, wordlessly setting two glasses of spotchka at the edge of the table.

The cantina was silent until Din finally spoke. “Who are you?”

“I’m Cobb Vanth, Marshal of Mos Pelgo.” He took a sip of his spotchka, seemingly unaffected by the tension filling the room.

Din gritted his teeth. “Where did you get the armor?”

“Bought it off some Jawas.”

“Hand it over.”

Beside him, (Y/N)’s breath hitched and Din could hear her subtly rest a hand on her holstered blaster as Cobb Vanth set his glass down on the table with a chuckle. “Look, pal, I’m sure you call the shots where you come from but ‘round here, _I’m_ the one who tells folks what to do.”

“Take it off, or I will.”

Cobb raised a brow. “We gonna do this in front of those two?”

(Y/N) shifted a little, her hand still on her blaster. “We’ve seen worse.” Her voice was clear and steady, and as she took several steps back to where the child was standing, her shoulder brushed against Din’s and he took small comfort in the brief contact.

“Right here, then?”

“Right here.”

With a sigh of defeat, Cobb kicked his stool back and stood, his eyes trained on Din’s helmet as their hands hovered over their blasters. Neither of them moved and Din watched with narrowed eyes as the marshal wrestled with indecision, clearly feeling a little unsure about starting a gunfight with a Mandalorian. Before either of them could make a move, the building began to shake, the tremors growing stronger with each passing second; Cobb held up a finger in Din’s direction before striding over to the cantina’s doorway, a newfound weariness in his expression.

Din followed after him, standing in the doorway as the town’s warning sirens began going off. The captain moved to stand beside him, and all three of them watched at the main street began to ripple. Something was traveling beneath the sand right through the middle of town, and judging by the intense quaking, it was _enormous_.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” (Y/N) muttered under her breath, bracing herself against the cantina doorway as the large mass passed them by. Just as Din opened his mouth to reply, a creature’s head emerged from the ground and, in an explosion of sand, swallowed a tethered bantha at the edge of the town whole before disappearing.

Cobb sighed before turning back to them. “Maybe we can work something out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain


	5. The Dragon

_Chapter Five  
The Dragon_

When she made the decision to join the Mandalorian’s crew and help him fulfill his quest, (Y/N) knew that they’d frequently be encountering dangerous situations. However, she didn’t foresee one of them involving her and Mando having to help kill a krayt dragon to protect a settlement in the middle of the Dune Sea. Cobb Vanth, the Marshal of Mos Pelgo, had offered Mando a deal: if they helped him kill the krayt dragon, he’d give them the Mandalorian armor he’d been using for years to protect his people.

_“Deal. (Y/N) can ride back to the ship and blow it out of the sand from the sky; we’ll stay and use the bantha as bait.”_

_Cobb looked away from Mando to shoot her an astounded smirk, to which she responded by raising a brow, daring him to challenge her piloting skills. Silently conceding, the marshal looked back at Mando with a grimace. “Not so simple. The ship passes above, it senses the vibrations and stays underground. But I know where it lives.”_

_“How far?”_

_“Not far.”_

So, she and Mando had wrangled up the child before getting onto the speeder bike and following Cobb further into the desert. Sensing that the Mandalorian was still agitated about the marshal’s blatant disrespect of his people’s Creed, (Y/N) had allowed him to drive and resigned herself to sitting behind him on the bike. I suppose there’s worse ways to travel, she thought to herself with a faint blush as her arms tightened slightly around her partner’s waist, like on the back of a bantha or dewback.

“You two don’t understand what it was like,” Cobb interjected after about a half an hour of driving. “The town was on its last legs; it started after we got news of the Death Star blowin’ up…the _second_ one, that is.” (Y/N) smiled to herself, a little pleased that someone else had realized just how idiotic the Empire had been to build two of those things, then turned her attention back to the marshal’s tale. “The Empire was blown out of Tatooine and there was blaster fire over Mos Eisley; the occupation was over. We didn’t even have time to celebrate. That very night, the mining collective moved in; power hates a vacuum and Mos Pelgo became a slave camp overnight…”

(Y/N) listened as the marshal detailed his escape from Mos Pelgo, how he’d stolen a camtono of silicax crystals and wandered the desert for days until being rescued by the Jawas. She felt Mando’s body stiffen as Cobb explained that he’d traded the crystals for the Mandalorian armor and returned to the town, ridding it of its enslavers and establishing himself as its marshal. Based on what he’d told them, (Y/N) decided that he was an honorable man just doing everything to keep his people safe; however, she knew that the silent Mandalorian sitting in front of her would take more time to win over.

That’s what Cobb Vanth must’ve thought as well; once he’d finished his story, he turned his attention to her instead of Mando. “So, what’s _your_ story? How’d a smuggler end up workin’ with a Mandalorian?”

“How’d you know-?”

“Livin’ on Tatooine, I’ve met my fair share of hot-shot pilots.” His mouth stretched into a lopsided grin. “None as pretty as you, though.”

Feeling her face warm at his flirtatious tone, (Y/N) couldn’t help but smile back. “Well, Mando here asked me to join his crew after seeing my piloting skills firsthand. And I’m actually a _former_ smuggler; I worked for the Rebellion but I retired from that life just after the New Republic was established.”

The two speeder bikes had just reached a rocky canyon and they reduced their speed in the narrowing ravine. It was then that Cobb glanced over at her with a raised brow. “I didn’t know they had smugglers workin’ in the Rebellion. What’d you smuggle for ‘em?”

(Y/N) hesitated for a moment, acutely aware that there was more than one person waiting to hear her reply. “I, um-”

Cobb signaled for them to halt right when a loud growling noise began echoing through the canyon; both speeder bikes came to a stop and all three took cover behind them as they drew their weapons. Not knowing what to expect, (Y/N) pulled the plaster rifle off her back and propped it up alongside Mando’s pulse rifle on the top of their speeder, furrowing her brow when the howling grew louder. Moments later, a massiff emerged from behind an outcropping of rock and was soon joined by several others. Instead of firing, Mando lowered his pulse rifle and let out a familiar-sounding growl of his own before walking around the bike and towards the creatures.

“What the hell’s he doin’?” Cobb whispered loudly, his look of surprise growing when (Y/N) got up from her crouch and slung her rifle back onto her shoulders. “What the-?”

She and Mando both raised a hand to calm the marshal down, and (Y/N) watched with an impressed smile as her partner knelt down and began petting the now-happy massiff. I guess Mando’s got a way with pets, she thought to herself, her smile widening when she noticed several Tuskens emerge from behind the rocks. (Y/N) had enjoyed sharing camp with the Tuskens the night before; they’d been pleasant hosts, and she’d truly loved learning more about their culture while teaching them a little of her own.

(Y/N) glanced over at Cobb while Mando conversed with the Tuskens, her smile faltering a little as she took in his hardened expression; and when Mando informed them that the Tuskens also wanted to kill the krayt dragon, a feeling of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach.

As night was beginning to fall, the Tuskens led the three of them to their settlement and allowed them to stay in two of their tents. (Y/N) thanked them for their hospitality using the hand gestures she’d picked up from Mando, pleased that she was still able to remember them but before she could make her way over to the Tusken’s campfire, Mando stopped her.

“Word travels fast on the Dune Sea; they already know about your peaceful encounter with the other clan of Tuskens yesterday. It’s Vanth who needs to earn their trust tonight.” Mando explained, his voice becoming a little gruffer when he mentioned the marshal’s name before quietly continuing. “Why don’t you and the child get some rest, _alor’ad_? I know it’s early but we’ll be traveling to the lair at first light and you’ll need your strength if you’re gonna help us kill a krayt dragon…”

(Y/N) relented, taking the child from Mando and crouching into their tent as she stifled tired yawns behind her hand; settling down in her bedroll, she drifted in and out of sleep, glancing over where the child was soundly sleeping every once in a while to see if he was all right. The little guy must be growing on you, she thought with a small smile, closing her eyes and rolling over to face the tent entrance.

A sudden sound caused (Y/N)’s eyes to snap open and in an instant, her blaster was in her hand and pointed directly at the Mandalorian’s head; realizing it was only her partner, she lowered her blaster with widened eyes. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Mando, I thought that-!”

“It’s okay, you shouldn’t apologize for having a quick reflex.” Mando replied, entering the tent and sitting down on top of his bedroll. “It’s good that you’re up; the Tuskens are going to take us to the lair tomorrow, but they’re insisting we travel in a small number and only scout the area. Will you be all right staying here with the kid while we go?”

She smiled, tucking her blaster back under her pillow. “Sure, that sounds okay. I guess that means you’ll be traveling with Vanth by yourself, huh?”

Nodding, Mando glanced over at the sleeping child before looking back at her. “I don’t trust him. He picked a fight with the Tuskens earlier, and he was asking a lot of questions about your Rebellion days.”

“Well, he was born and raised on Tatooine; he’s probably been told all his life that the Tuskens are the monsters. And as for the questions…well, most people don’t know that the Rebels recruited smugglers to their cause and then once they learn, they always assume that I was only working with the Alliance for monetary reasons. But I don’t mind.” Shrugging, (Y/N) laid back down on her bedroll, resting her hands on her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling of the tent. “Better to let them assume than to re-open any old wounds by explaining. Does that make any sense?”

The Mandalorian was silent for a moment and when he answered, his voice sounded softer than usual. “Yeah…yeah, it does.”

“So, um, what’s the story with the little guy?” (Y/N) asked, eager to change the subject but also curious about the child’s background. “When you say we’re returning him to his kind, do you mean his species or maybe his family…?”

She heard Mando lay down on his own bedroll. “The child is…special. He has many abilities, and he belongs with a race of sorcerers called Jedi.”

“Jedi?” (Y/N)’s sleepy eyes widened and she rolled over to look at the Mandalorian. “I thought that they were just myths!”

“You’ve heard of the Jedi before?”

“My mother used to tell me stories about them when I was a child on Naboo, but I didn’t…” She trailed off, feeling his gaze from behind the visor of his helmet. “I always thought they were fairytales.”

Mando nodded eagerly. “Do you remember anything about your mother’s stories? Anything at all?”

“All I remember is that the Jedi were supposed to have been the guardians of the peace but if that were true, then the Empire never would’ve happened.” (Y/N) snorted, laying back down and frowning a little as she sensed her partner’s disappointment. “That doesn’t really help us, though.”

“Well, it’s one thing I didn’t know before, so I’d say it was a little helpful.” The Mandalorian offered. “We should get some rest; we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, it quickly became apparent that they were in for more than what they’d originally bargained for. (Y/N) stayed at the Tusken settlement with the child while Mando, Cobb and a handful of Tuskens traveled by bantha the short distance to the krayt dragon’s lair. To pass the time, she’d mended some of their clothing and cleaned her borrowed blaster rifle, knowing that she would soon be needing it.

When the others returned, Mando explained their plan to recruit the villagers of Mos Pelgo to aid in the attack against the creature before they headed back to the town. (Y/N) hadn’t said anything out loud, but she was wary of their new plan; it essentially hinged on the ability of two warring peoples to set aside their differences in order to defeat a common enemy, and while (Y/N) had no problem working alongside the Tuskens, she knew that the villagers would have a very different opinion than her. Now I definitely have a bad feeling about all this, she thought as she parked the speeder alongside Cobb’s in front of the cantina.

“They attacked us less than a year ago, killed half a dozen of us by the mining camp. I’d say I took down about twice as many Tuskens.” Cobb got up from his speeder, a fresh look of guilt on his face.

“The town respects you.” Mando pointed out as (Y/N) hopped off their speeder and dusted off her clothes. “My guess is they’ll listen to reason.”

(Y/N) nodded and offered the marshal a brief smile. “If the Tuskens are willing to put the past aside, then I don’t see why your people can’t find it within themselves to do the same.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

A doubtful-looking Cobb quickly gathered the town into the cantina and it went about as well as she’d feared it would; after explaining the entire situation to the villagers they reluctantly agreed to the deal the Tuskens had offered, that in exchange for their help and the carcass of the creature, they would unite with them in battle and never attack Mos Pelgo until a villager breaks the peace. Tension filled the air as the Tuskens arrived to help with the preparations and it went fairly quickly, save for one brief moment of unrest between a Tusken and a villager. But in no time, they were slowly on their way to the krayt dragon’s lair with the villagers and explosives in tow.

With the suns high in the sky, (Y/N) stood between Mando and Cobb as they carefully watched a lone Tusken make his way to the large cave entrance and place his hands on the ground before it; after several terse moments, the Tusken straightened and signed a message with his hands.

“What did he say?” (Y/N) quietly asked, the hand holding the blaster rifle’s strap tightening with anticipation.

“He says it’s sleeping. If we listen carefully, we can hear it breathing.”

(Y/N) glanced over at Cobb beside her, shrugging and watching as another Tusken offered him a familiar-looking green object; she gave the marshal an expectant smile that widened when he lifted the object and drank the sour liquid, finally accepting the Tusken’s gesture of peace and good faith.

After receiving their instructions from the Mandalorian, they got to work as quietly as they could. (Y/N) removed her cowl before grabbing a shovel and helping the others dig the shallow hole that they’d bury the explosives in; the muscles in her arms were aching in protest by the time the hole was finished, but she hid her pain as she walked up to Mando and Cobb with a smile.

“Ready when you are, fellas.”

Mando nodded and moved forward to watch the Tuskens approach the mouth of the cave, leaving Cobb to walk alongside her as he flashed her a lopsided grin. “How ‘bout a kiss for luck from a pretty lady?”

(Y/N) only rolled her eyes and raised a brow in amusement at his flirting attempt. “How about we focus on killing a krayt dragon and not dying instead, Marshal?”

“Worth a shot.” Cobb shrugged as they stood alongside Mando on the rocky ridge overlooking the villagers and Tuskens. They watched as three Tuskens slowly made their way to the cave and stopped, hesitating a brief moment before loudly calling out; their grunts and growls echoed throughout the rocky canyon and just as they had begun to fade, the growling of a large creature called back. All three Tuskens turned and ran, and the krayt dragon burst out of the cave in an explosion of sand; its roar shook the ground, and (Y/N)’s jaw nearly dropped when she realized just how massive the creature was.

Beside her, Mando pulled out his scope and all three of them watched the Tuskens and the villagers enact their plan; they fired the harpoons they’d built to pull the creature from its cave, but it quickly became clear that it wasn’t working when the krayt dragon reared its head back and tried tugging itself loose from its captors. “Dank farrik, it’s going back in; it’s retreating.”

Cobb gripped the detonator in his hand, his thumb hovering over the button. “I’m gonna hit it.”

“No, wait. We only have one shot; we’ve gotta get it out.”

Following the others lead, (Y/N) slung the blaster rifle off her shoulder and quickly aimed before firing at the creature, her precise shots joining the blaster bolts and small explosives hitting its thick hide. Their actions enraged the krayt dragon, which charged forward and forced the others to run for cover.

“Now?” Cobb asked, his jaw tightening as he watched his village continue its assault on the creature.

Mando shook his head. “Not yet. It’s gotta come out further.”

But as he spoke, the krayt dragon finally pulled itself free of the harpoons with a deafening roar, throwing Tuskens high into the air before opening its mouth and spewing acid onto a group of retreating Tuskens and villagers.

Both Mando and Cobb stiffened at the sight, and (Y/N) heard herself breathe out, “Oh, Maker.”

The creature continued forward after its attackers, and Mando held up a tense hand. “Almost, almost…now!”

The marshal’s thumb smashed down on the button and the explosives went off, sending a massive cloud of dust up with a blast of air as the creature roared and vanished from view. (Y/N) lowered her blaster to shield her face from the sand-filled wind, looking up as the dust began to settle and frowning when she noticed the empty patch of ground.

“I don’t think it’s dead.”

“Me either.”

(Y/N) merely bit her lip and watched as the Tuskens and villagers looked around in confusion, an unsettling feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, the krayt dragon exploded out of the rocky ridge high above the entrance of the cave with an ear-splitting growl and began spewing more acid onto the panicked crowd below.

Cobb’s face twisted in fury. “It’s pickin’ us off like womp rats.” He suddenly turned and grabbed his blaster rifle off his speeder. “Let’s get after it!”

Mando turned to look at her and she nodded, already knowing exactly what the two of them had in mind; he hurried over and grabbed his pulse rifle, rushing back to her and wrapping his free arm tightly around her waist. He barely gave her enough time to latch onto him before activating his jetpack and shooting up into the air, flying fast towards where the creature was emerging from the rocks. Yeah, I think I prefer flying in an actual ship, (Y/N) barely had time to think, landing roughly beside Mando and Cobb on the side of the ridge and immediately joining them as they fired their weapons at the side of the creature’s head.

“This ain’t doin’ a thing!”

“Yeah, I have to agree with the marshal on this one!” (Y/N) yelled, watching as their shots bounced off its thick hide.

Reloading his pulse rifle, Mando loudly replied, “Just keep shooting!”

The three of them continued firing their weapons and after a few moments, the krayt dragon seemed to finally notice their presence; it let out another roar and moved its head towards them, but the Mandalorian grabbed her around the waist again and they flew out of the way just as it bit down on the rocky ridge. They flew down to the ground in front of the cave entrance and spun around, their weapons at the ready, but the creature had disappeared once again.

“Dank farrik…” (Y/N) murmured under her breath, her grip on her blaster rifle tightening as she waited for the krayt dragon to re-emerge; she didn’t have very long to wait. They quickly turned as the creature appeared from the sand dunes behind them and lunged forward, narrowly missing a cluster of escaping Tuskens and villagers.

“There he is.” Mando spoke under his breath, his modulated voice steady despite the dire situation. He glanced past (Y/N) to Cobb with a nod. “I’ve got an idea. Get it’s attention.”

Without hesitation, the marshal leaned forward and activated the missile strapped to his back; it hit the creature with a fiery explosion, causing it to shriek in anger and change its course, charging through the sand in their direction. “I got its attention! Now what?”

“You still have that detonator?”

Cobb unclipped it from his belt and reached past (Y/N) to hand it over. “Take it!”

“Wait, what’s the plan, Mando?” (Y/N) frowned, trying in vain to piece together what her partner was planning on doing.

Mando turned his head to look at her. “You’re gonna take care of the child.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know but wish me luck!” Before (Y/N) could realize what was happening, Mando pushed her into Cobb’s arms and as she instinctively brought her arms up around the marshal’s shoulders, he slammed the butt of his pulse rifle into his jetpack and they shot high up into the air. Clutching tightly to Cobb as they zigzagged through the sky, (Y/N) had just enough time to glance over and see the krayt dragon swallow Mando and a bantha whole before they landed hard on the ground.

Quickly sitting up, (Y/N) stared at the spot the Mandalorian had been with her jaw dropped in horror. She couldn’t move or speak and beside her, Cobb ripped off his helmet to reveal an equally-stunned face; before either of them could say anything, the ground began to rumble beneath them once again. (Y/N) grabbed her blaster rifle just as the krayt dragon re-emerged from the ground, its jaw widening to release a mighty roar, but just as she was preparing to fire on it, a familiar beskar-clad figure flew out of its mouth and was followed by the electric-blue shockwaves of a pulse rifle.

“That son of a mud-scuffer…” (Y/N) breathed out, watching through her rifle’s scope in amazement as the Mandalorian pressed down on the detonator and set off the explosives within the creature. With one last ear-splitting scream, the krayt dragon collapsed to the ground in a cloud of sand and dust, finally defeated.

She and Cobb shielded their faces as a strong gust of wind blasted them, looking up in time to watch Mando land on the ground in front of the creature’s carcass. (Y/N) glanced over at the marshal and they shared a disbelieving grin, clambering to their feet while the cheers of Tuskens and villagers filled the air.

(Y/N)’s leg twinged in protest when she stood but she ignored the pain as she and Cobb hurried over to where Mando stood; his armor was dripping with the creature’s green stomach acid and his chest was heaving with labored breaths, but to her he looked incredible.

“You’ve gotta be the craziest kriffing man I’ve ever met!” (Y/N) exclaimed, looking over her partner for any serious signs of injury and grinning when he merely shrugged his shoulders. “Keep pulling stunts like that and you might just change my low opinion of ex-bounty hunters.”

Mando chuckled between breaths, the sound causing her heart to warm in her chest. “I’ll keep that in mind, _alor’ad_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain


	6. The Medic

_Chapter Six  
The Medic_

After helping the Tuskens and the villagers gather up their weapons and supplies, Din and (Y/N) began preparing their speeder bike for the trip back to Mos Eisley. The Tuskens had gifted them a large chunk of the creature’s meat and while they continued harvesting the rest of its carcass, he and the captain wrestled the heavy meat onto the back of the bike; the child watched them work with widened eyes, and Din grinned in amusement when he realized how eager he was to eat it.

Din glanced up from their work as Cobb walked up to them, the Mandalorian armor packaged up in his arms. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to explain.”

“No need.” The marshal placed the bundle of armor onto the seat of the speeder before handing him the helmet, a smile of respect on his weathered face. “This was well-earned.”

“It was my pleasure.” He spoke truthfully, shaking Cobb’s outstretched hand; through their adventure together, he’d grown to admire the marshal and considered it an honor to have fought by his side. Well, _mostly_ admire, he thought to himself, recalling how the charming man had flirted so easily with his partner.

Letting go of his hand, Cobb turned to (Y/N) with a lopsided grin. “Well, if you ever get tired of hangin’ ‘round this fella, princess, you know where to find me.”

Din felt a sudden surge of jealousy. The captain didn’t appear to be romantically interested in the ruggedly-handsome Marshal of Mos Pelgo, but it didn’t stop Din from envying the man for the effortless way he made her smile.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, but…” (Y/N) looked over at Din with a glimmer of admiration in her eyes that nearly made him blush. “I think I’m right where I’m meant to be.”

Cobb shrugged good-naturedly and shook her hand. “Princess, you sure are somethin’.” He winked at her before looking between her and Din. “Well, this was fun. I hope our paths cross again, you two.”

“As do I.”

The marshal turned to walk away but halted, gesturing over to the Mandalorian armor with a smirk. “Oh, and tell your people I wasn’t the one that broke that.”

Once Cobb made his way over to where his villagers stood, Din glanced over at (Y/N) as she wrapped her cowl around her shoulders. “Feel up to driving, _alor’ad_?”

“I always am.” With a grin, she pulled on her goggles and secured the child in his satchel before carefully climbing onto the packed speeder bike. “Ready to go, partner?”

With a nod, Din seated himself behind her and placed his hands on either side of her waist as she revved the speeder’s engine and shot forward, starting out back across the Dune Sea with the twin suns high above them. They had originally planned on traveling the entire way back to Mos Eisley without stopping but as the suns began to set, Din reconsidered the plan; his body was aching all over and he knew that (Y/N)’s leg was injured, so he ultimately decided that their best course of action was to camp out for the night and travel at first light.

The captain readily agreed to his new plan and stopped the speeder bike near a small outcropping of rocks, keeping an eye on the child as Din set up their camp. He watched the two of them out of the corner of his eye while he worked, biting back an amused chuckle whenever he caught a snippet of (Y/N)’s words; she spoke to the child as if he were an adult, perhaps because she wasn’t used to dealing with small children, but it was entertaining to listen to her partake in an almost one-sided conversation with the babbling child.

“How’s your leg?” Din asked later on that evening, after they’d put the child to sleep in his satchel; he and (Y/N) were sitting beside the campfire and he noticed that she’d been absentmindedly rubbing her calf as they talked. “I saw you limping back there.”

“Oh, yeah, I think I might’ve landed on it weird when Vanth and I fell out of the sky.” She stretched out her right leg and flexed it, trying and failing to mask her wince of pain behind a smile. “It feels…okay.”

Giving his head a small shake, Din gestured to her leg with a gloved hand. “May I?” With a small sigh of defeat, she nodded and leaned back on her elbows as he carefully rolled up her trouser leg. He could tell even through his helmet’s visor that the captain’s calf muscle was cramped, the theory only confirmed when he hovered a hand over the bulge and felt the slight warmth radiating off of it through the leather of his glove. “Yep, your muscle cramped up, probably due to the shock of the impact. There’s not much a person can do to speed up its healing, unfortunately, but…” He cleared his throat, his hands beginning to sweat nervously underneath his gloves. “But I _can_ make it feel a little better…”

“O-okay. Thank you, Mando.” Her kind smile faltered a bit once he tentatively began rubbing his thumbs down on the spot. “I guess I should add ‘medic’ to your ever-growing list of impressive skills, right alongside ‘Tusken Translator’ and ‘Diplomat.’” Din scoffed and she lightly kicked his armored thigh with her other foot. “I’m serious! The way you got those two groups to set aside their differences and work together was amazing, Mando, and you should be proud of yourself.”

Din felt his face warm at (Y/N)’s praise, and he was thankful that she couldn’t see just how flustered her words made him; feeling overwhelmed, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You know, there’s no Mando’a word for ‘diplomat;’ ‘translator’ is _miit’amyc_ and ‘medic’ is _baar’ur,_ but there’s no word in that language that directly translates ‘diplomat.’ The closest would be _naak_ , which means ‘peace.’” He looked up from his work to meet (Y/N)’s stunned expression, suddenly feeling self-conscious under her gaze. “I’m rambling, sorry-”

“No, no, it’s okay! You’re actually doing a great job at distracting me from the pain, _baar’ur_ ,” She joked, biting back a wince as he continued massaging the muscle. “How do you say ‘bounty hunter’ in Mando’a?”

“ _Beroya_.”

“What about ‘smuggler’?”

He paused for a moment. “ _Mir'sheb_.”

(Y/N) smiled. “So, you’re a _beroya_ and I’m a _mir’sheb_.” At her statement Din burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer and she merely raised a confused brow. “What, did I pronounce it wrong?”

“ _Mir’sheb_... _mir’sheb_ means ‘smart-ass’...”

His chuckles continued as she threw him a withering glare and the corners of her lips curled into a reluctant grin. “Just for that, I’m gonna find a language you don’t know and learn to speak it just so I can call you names all the time.”

Their laughter died down and they sat in comfortable silence as Din massaged her cramped muscle. With one particularly hard rub, (Y/N)’s eyes squeezed shut in pain, she blurted out, “It’s kinda silly, isn’t it? You purposefully get swallowed by a kriffing krayt dragon yet _I’m_ the one with the stupid injury.”

Din frowned in guilt, remembering the expression on the captain’s face when he’d flown out of the creature’s mouth; it had been an equal mixture of shock and anger, the latter nearly disguised by her trademark grin. “I’m sorry, _alor’ad_.”

“It’s okay, it’s already feeling a little bit better-”

“That’s not what I was talking about.” He interrupted. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about my plan; we’re partners now, and I didn’t treat you as my partner back there.”

Blinking her eyes open, (Y/N) looked at him with a patient expression on her face. “I understand, Mando, there wasn’t enough time. I was…I was just worried about you, that’s all.” Din stopped massaging the muscle and she gave her leg an experimental flex. “Oh, that feels great! Did you want to take first watch or should I?”

“I will,” He quickly answered, averting his gaze as she bent over to roll down her trouser leg. “You get some rest.”

(Y/N) bid him goodnight and crawled into the bedroll beside the child, her breathing evening out as she quickly fell asleep. Once Din was sure that the captain was unconscious, he began taking off pieces of his armor and tending to his many injuries; since they were only darkening bruises, he couldn’t really do anything except examine them and check for any broken skin before strapping his armor back on over them. He finished his work quickly, wincing in pain as he straightened his back and rolled his shoulders.

“Dinner time.” Din mumbled under his breath, reaching over and grabbing a ration pack from his bag. He made swift work of opening it up, since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten, and just as he was about to lift the bottom of his helmet up over his mouth, he hesitated; glancing over at his partner and the child, he made the split-second decision of removing the entire helmet.

As the cool desert breeze blew over his warm skin, Din’s eyes widened in shock at his own recklessness, but his shock was soon replaced by wonder when his gaze drifted back to the captain. With his own eyes he was finally able to admire all those features he’d noticed the moment he met her, taking note of the softness of her skin and the way the corner of her lip curved up while she slept; the breeze had blown some of her hair onto her face and for the briefest of seconds, he’d been tempted to reach over and brush it behind her ear. _Kandosii’la_. But common sense finally returned and he gave his head a small shake before quickly eating his food and securing his helmet back on, purposefully looking anywhere but her as he continued his watch.

It wasn’t just (Y/N)’s beauty that had taken him aback that evening. Din wasn’t used to having someone around who worried for his safety; when she’d wished him luck before their first mission together, he figured she was only being polite, but now he knew that she genuinely cared about his well-being. Cobb Vanth was right back there, Din thought to himself as his face flushed, his partner really _was_ something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Din allowed (Y/N) to drive the speeder bike, partly because his body was still sore from the previous day’s excitement and partly because he secretly enjoyed the feel of his gloved hands on the curve of her waist. As they sped across the Dune Sea, thoughts of their quest intruded on his mind and he inwardly sighed; they hadn’t found a Mandalorian on Tatooine, which meant that they were virtually back at square one.

Preoccupied with planning their next move, Din didn’t spot the trip wire until it was too late; they were instantly ejected off the speeder, the child crying out in shock as they flew through the air. Din twisted in midair, hastily bringing a hand up to his vambrace and igniting his jetpack so that he could land on his feet. He stumbled backwards and dodged the burning speeder as it flew past him and crashed onto the sand in the distance, turning to see where (Y/N) and the child had landed just as blaster bolts hit his shoulder and helmet. Grunting, Din stumbled back some more and heard a gruff voice call out, “Get the child!”

Another shot hit his shoulder and he quickly realized that he was being cornered by four figures, pulling out his blaster to shoot one of them but missing his mark when another attacker slammed down on his weapon with a sword. He dropped the blaster but was quick to defend himself, managing to disarm his attacker and hit him in the head; two attackers pinned him up against the rocks and he couldn’t do much but hold his arms up to defend against their blows until he spotted the fourth attacker beginning to aim a rifle blaster at him. He quickly fired his grappling hook and watched as it wrapped around the weapon, tugging it hard and ducking down to let the weapon hit both his attackers in the heads. They fell to the ground and he stood but froze when he saw that the fourth attacker was holding the child in one arm and a knife in the other.

“Wait!” Din held his hands up, his heart clenching as he took in the child’s widened eyes. “Don’t hurt the child. If you put one mark on him there’s no place you’ll be able to hide from me.” The attacker didn’t move, but he was suddenly aware of a familiar presence nearby; to distract the attacker, he gestured towards the speeder wreck in the distance. “We can strike a bargain. There’s a lot of value in this wreckage; take your pick. But leave _him_.”

The attacker suddenly gestured towards Din’s left with his knife, speaking angrily in his unknown language and pointing it back at the child in his arms. He turned his head a little to watch (Y/N) reluctantly lower her blaster and toss it off to the side, looking back at the attacker and sighing when he realized just what the attacker wanted.

“Okay.” Din slowly reached behind him and detached his jetpack, taking a step forward and placing it gently on the ground before backing away. “Here, it’s yours. Take it. It’s okay.” He heard (Y/N) make a sound of protest and he held a hand out to quiet her as the attacker set the child down; he grabbed the jetpack and immediately ran off with it, but all of Din’s attention was on the child as he hobbled towards him with a distressed cry; he bent down and picked the child up, examining him for any injuries. “You okay?” The child cooed and looked over at (Y/N) as she hurried over and Din turned his attention to the fleeing attacker; bringing his hand up to his vambrace, he launched the jetpack high up in the air and all three of them watched as the attacker plummeted to the ground.

The child let out a snort of amusement in his arms and Din could hear the smile in (Y/N)’s voice when she quipped, “I guess the rumors were true: ex-bounty hunters really _do_ have a flair for dramatics.”

“Says the woman who’s from Naboo, probably the most theatrical planet in the galaxy.” Din joked, his eyes still on the jetpack as he piloted it to land on the ground before them. His smirk faded when he looked over at (Y/N), finally taking note of her split lip and bruised neck. “Dank farrik, what happened to you?”

“I got in the way of a Nikto and his target.” She winced a little as she tried and failed to grin. “He was going after you while you were dealing with that first guy and I tried stopping him, but…well, I told you that I wasn’t the greatest at hand-to-hand combat.”

“Then that settles it; I’ll start training you as soon as we get into hyperspace.” Din vowed, his heart clenching as the captain nodded and shot him a grateful look. “Looks like we’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way to Mos Eisley, though…”

After fashioning a makeshift yolk out of scraps and a small argument with (Y/N) about sharing the load, they began their long walk out of the Dune Sea; Din was carrying the Mandalorian armor and the krayt dragon meat, and (Y/N) had slung the child’s satchel over her shoulders and was carrying the rest of their supplies in an improvised backpack. Theirs was a completely equal partnership, she’d reminded him with a brow raised in challenge, leaving no room for further argument.

While Din admired her strength and determination, he also worried about her slight limp and the injuries she’d sustained in their skirmish with the bandits so to distract himself from their current situation, he began asking (Y/N) questions about herself. He kept their conversation light, asking about her favorite things and listening to her answers with interest; she was fairly easy to talk to, unlike most people he came across, and it was almost a little strange just how closely she listened to him talk about his own life. And he knew that it wasn’t because she was feigning interest; she seemed to genuinely care about what he had to say, and that was something he wasn’t really used to seeing in another person.

“Have you ever tried _uj’alayi_?”

(Y/N) shook her head. “No, what’s that?”

“It’s a kind of cake, made with ground nuts, syrup and spices. It was my favorite food as a kid, and my…my mother would bake it once every month.” Din smiled a little at the memory before glancing over at the captain. “Don’t they have sweets on Naboo?”

“Yeah, but they’re really rich and filling; they definitely aren’t as tasty as how _uj’alayi_ sounds.” They walked up a sandy dune and stopped at the top. Din was silently relieved when the city of Mos Eisley finally came into view, although a part of him wished their conversation could’ve gone on longer; I’m gonna find her some _uj’alayi_ at the next market we visit, he silently vowed to himself as she exclaimed, “Maker, I’ve never been so happy to see a Tatooine city in all my life!”

“Really? As an ex-smuggler, I thought you’d _love_ visiting shady dive-planets like Tatooine…”

“I’m gonna kick your ass for that…just as soon as I learn how to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain  
> Miit’amyc-Translator  
> Baar’ur-Medic  
> Mir’sheb-Smart-ass  
> Kandosii’la-Stunning, Amazing  
> Uj’alayi-Uj Cake


	7. The Passenger

_Chapter Seven  
The Passenger_

(Y/N), Mando and the child finally reached Mos Eisley just as dusk was settling over the desert planet. At her partner’s urging, (Y/N) took the child to the _Razor Crest_ and cleaned herself up while he went into the local cantina to find his mechanic friend, Peli; she hadn’t even tried arguing with him, too exhausted from the day’s hectic events. On board the ship, she cleaned herself up as best she could and changed clothes, trading in her desert ensemble for a white long-sleeved top, dark trousers and her shortened Shaak-skinned coat; she fastened her blaster holster back around her waist and tugged on a fresh pair of black boots before making her way back down the ship’s ramp.

The Mandalorian, who’d been watching as one of Peli’s droids roasted the chunk of krayt dragon meat before an old pod racer thruster, turned to her as she approached. “Peli might’ve found us a lead on some more Mandalorians but we won’t know for sure until she gets back.”

“That’s great!” She exclaimed, elated that their adventures on Tatooine hadn’t concluded in a dead end; glancing over at the roasting meat, she smiled in amusement when she noticed the child watching the meat with hunger in his eyes. “I guess somebody’s a little hungry, aren’t they?” The child babbled in response but didn’t take his wide eyes off the rotating meat. She looked back over at Mando beside her. “I can watch the little guy while you get cleaned up a bit.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.”

(Y/N) sighed a little at her partner’s reply. “Mando, you – and I mean this in the nicest possible way – smell like the stomach of a dead krayt dragon. I’ll keep an eye on the kid and make sure no one goes near the ship, okay?”

With her convincing, Mando finally trudged into the ship to wash up and clean his armor and (Y/N) couldn’t help but silently curse his stubbornness as she watched over the child and the meat. It didn’t take very long for her to hear Peli noisily enter the hangar, shouting out, “Hey, don’t overcook it, Treadwell, I like it medium-rare! I’m not some Rodian, for crying out loud. Oh, hey there, (Y/N)!” The eccentric mechanic looked past her shoulder and let out a low whistle. “Well, doesn’t _he_ clean up nice…!”

(Y/N) glanced over to see the Mandalorian walking down the ship’s ramp, his newly-cleaned armor gleaming in the firelight; he came to a stop before her and rested his hands on his hips before tilting his helmet to the side, and she hoped with all her might that he didn’t notice her staring. “Well? Do I pass your inspection now?”

She pretended to think it over for a moment. “Hmm…I suppose so, _mir'sheb_.”

“I’m gonna regret playing that trick on you, aren’t I?”

Shrugging, (Y/N) smiled up at her exasperated partner. “What can I say? Ex-smugglers excel at holding grudges.”

“If you two’re done flirting, I’ve got some info for you.” They quickly looked over at Peli’s amused smirk and (Y/N) felt her face grow warm. “All right, here’s the deal. A Mandalorian covert _is_ close; it’s in this sector, one system trailing.”

“Are they the ones that left Nevarro?”

“Don’t know,” Peli shrugged. “All I know is that the contact will lead you to them.”

Mando nodded. “How much will it cost us?”

The mechanic’s smile widened. “Well, that’s the great news! It’s free, aside from a finder’s fee, of course.”

(Y/N) glanced over at Mando as he heaved a small sigh. “What’s the not-great news?”

“Nothing, it’s all great.”

“Okay,” Mando replied, turning towards (Y/N) and gesturing to the ship. “Go ahead and prep the ship for take-off; I’ll be there soon to help chart our course and-”

“However…there _is_ one small skank in the scud pie.”

They both looked back at Peli and (Y/N) raised a curious brow. “Which is?”

“The contact wants passage to the system.”

That doesn’t sound like much of a problem, she thought to herself as Mando asked, “Do you vouch for them?”

Peli nodded with enthusiasm. “On my life.”

Mando looked over at (Y/N), as if asking for her opinion, and she shrugged a shoulder. “Fine.”

“ _And_ …no hyperdrive.”

(Y/N)’s jaw dropped and Mando’s modulated voice was incredulous as he spoke. “You want us to travel sublight? Deal’s off.”

“It’s one sector over…”

“Moving fast’s the only thing keeping the three of us safe!”

Peli looked exasperated as she stared down the irate Mandalorian, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. “These are mitigating circumstances.”

“What do you mean, _mitigating_?”

Just as (Y/N) was about to speak up, a Frog woman walked into the hangar; she was dressed simply and she was carrying something on her back that took (Y/N) a few moments to recognize but once she did, she immediately understood their situation; she’d met several Frogs as a smuggler during the Rebellion, and she knew that the continuing of their family lines was near-sacred to them. Her heart warmed in her chest at the sight of the hopeful mother and she knew that they had to take her with them.

Her partner, however, seemed to feel differently; lowering his voice, Mando grumbled to Peli, “I’m not a taxi service.”

“I hear you, Mandalorian, but I can vouch for her.”

The Frog woman stopped beside Peli and spoke out in an odd croaking language, one that (Y/N) had never been able to learn and one that she suspected Mando didn’t know either. His hands were still on his hips as he reluctantly asked, “What’s the cargo?”

Peli and the Frog woman shared a brief exchange before the mechanic glanced back at Mando. “It’s her spawn. She needs her eggs fertilized by the equinox or her line will end. If you jump into hyperspace, they’ll die. She said her husband has settled on the estuary moon on Trask in the system of the gas giant Kol Iben.”

“She said all that?”

(Y/N) shot her partner an exasperated glare as Peli shrugged her shoulders. “I paraphrased.”

Mando let out another sigh before glancing over at (Y/N), who merely offered him a small smile. “It’s only one sector over, Mando. If we run into any trouble, I’m sure I can get us out of it quick; that’s why you hired me, after all.”

He looked back at Peli. “Is she _sure_ there are Mandalorians there?”

“She said her husband has seen them.”

Her partner’s shoulders sagged in defeat and (Y/N) lightly patted his arm. “I’ll prep the ship for take-off and get our guest comfortable.” She gestured for the Frog woman to follow her onto the ship and gave her a friendly smile as they walked. “I’m not sure if you understand me, but welcome aboard the _Razor Crest_.”

They stowed the Frog woman’s container of eggs in the cargo hold before climbing into the cockpit; while their passenger made herself comfortable in the seat to the right of the pilot’s chair, (Y/N) flicked switches and pressed buttons as she prepared them for their journey to Trask. Once she knew that Mando and the child were on board, she piloted the ship up out of the hangar and into the darkened sky; her partner entered the cockpit just as the ship was leaving the upper atmosphere, coming to stand behind (Y/N) while she worked.

“Now, I’m gonna ask that you stay strapped in whenever you’re seated; traveling sublight’s a bit…dicey these days.” Mando sighed a little and (Y/N) couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes at his dramatics. “Whether it’s pirates or war lords, someone either ends up with a large chunk of change or your ship.”

Flipping another switch, (Y/N) turned in her seat to give the Frog woman another reassuring smile. “But you don’t have to worry about any of that, ma’am. It’ll be a smooth journey to Trask and you’ll be seeing your husband in no time.”

The Frog woman let out a series of croaks and squeaks, and (Y/N)’s smile faltered a little as she glanced up at an equally-confused Mando. He shrugged and shook his helmeted head at their passenger. “We don’t speak whatever language that is. You speak… _Huttese_?” He paused a moment before speaking a sentence of butchered Huttese. The Frog woman only stared back at them and Mando heaved another sigh. “I’m gonna hit the rack. Did you set the nav for our course yet, _alor’ad_?”

“Yep.” (Y/N) replied, pressing a button off to her side and listening as the Mandalorian left the cockpit, noisily making his way down the ladder. She let out a small exhale through her nose, relieved to be away from her partner’s inexplicably aggravated demeanor, before spinning the pilot’s seat around and standing up. “It’s gonna take a little while for us to reach Trask, ma’am, so I recommend you get some rest.” The Frog woman nodded and (Y/N) made herself comfortable in the second passenger’s seat, strapping herself in before folding her hands over her stomach and closing her eyes. Normally, she would’ve gone down and taken a nap on her cot, but she didn’t want to abandon their passenger the same way that Mando had. I’m sure his bad attitude will be gone by the morning, (Y/N) thought to herself before soon falling asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Y/N) abruptly woke up to the sound of the _Razor Crest_ ’s alarm blaring throughout the cockpit; still half-asleep, she tried getting up but was quickly stopped by the seat’s restraints. Just as she reached for the buckle that would free her, the door to the cockpit slid open and the Mandalorian hurried inside; he sat down in the pilot’s seat and pressed several buttons to shut off the alarm just as a voice spoke out from the ship’s communication radio.

“Razor Crest _, M1-11. Come in,_ Razor Crest _, do you copy?_ ”

Glancing over, she spotted the two X-Wings flying up on either side of them and exhaled in relief. Just a standard New Republic check-in, she thought to herself, grateful that it hadn’t been pirates or war lords. Her relief quickly vanished, however, when Mando finally spoke. “This is _Razor Crest._ Is there a problem?” Although his words were polite, his tone had a hardened edge to it that made (Y/N)’s stomach clench nervously.

“ _We noticed your transponder’s not emitting._ ”

“Yes, I’m pre-Empire surplus; I’m not required to run a beacon.”

“ _That was before. This sector is under New Republic jurisdiction, and all craft are required to run a beacon._ ”

Mando paused for a moment. “Thank you for letting me know, I’ll get right on it.”

“ _Not a problem. Safe travels._ ”

“…May the Force be with you.”

If she weren’t so on-edge by the Mandalorian’s odd attitude, (Y/N) would’ve rolled her eyes at his awkward farewell. “ _And also with you._ ” The cockpit fell silent and just as she opened her mouth to question her partner, the voice came through the communication radio once again. “ _Just one more thing._ ”

“Yes?”

“ _I’m gonna need you to send us a ping. We’re out here sweeping for Imperial holdouts._ ”

“I’ll let you know if I see any.” Mando replied dryly and she clenched her fists in frustration; couldn’t he see that the X-Wings would leave them alone just as soon as he cooperated and turned on the beacon?

The X-Wing pilot sounded as unimpressed as (Y/N) felt as he continued. “ _I’m still gonna need you to send us that ping._ ”

She watched as Mando pretended to fiddle around with the different controls near him. “Well, I’m not sure I have that hardware online.”

“… _We can wait._ ”

Not wanting to wake the still-sleeping Frog woman, (Y/N) leaned forward and quietly hissed, “Just turn on the damn beacon, Mando.”

Her partner waved an impatient hand at her as he shook his helmeted head. “Yeah, I…it doesn’t seem to be working.”

“ _That’s too bad. If we can’t confirm you’re not Imperial, you’re gonna have to follow us to the outpost on Adelphi. They’ll run your tabs._ ”

“Seriously, Mando, just do what they say.” (Y/N) murmured, her frown deepening the longer the interaction continued. “They’re New Republic, definitely no threat to us.”

He reached forward with a reluctant hand and hovered it over a switch. “Oh, wait…there it is.” He flipped the switch. “Transmitting now.” The small noise the transmission caused woke the Frog woman and she immediately began croaking as Mando hissed, “Be quiet!”

“ _What’s that?_ ”

(Y/N) reached over and gave their passenger a reassuring pat on the arm, listening in on Mando while he stammered out a weak excuse. “Um, nothing! The hypervac is drawing off the exhaust manifold.”

The silence in the cabin was deafening, punctuated only by the voice of the X-Wing pilot. “ _Carson, can you switch over to channel two?_ ”

“ _Copy._ ”

“Mando, what the krif’s going on? Why…?”

Her demanding inquiry died in her throat when she saw the X-Wings shift into attack mode. “ _Was your craft in the proximity of New Republic Correctional Transport, Bothan Five?_ ”

(Y/N) felt her jaw drop at the ranger’s accusatory question but before she could say anything, Mando roughly jerked the ship’s controls and sped off towards the nearby planet. The Frog woman let out a strangled scream as the ship jarringly entered the planet’s upper atmosphere and struggled to stabilize herself, and (Y/N) couldn’t stop herself from angrily shouting out, “When you brought me on, you didn’t think to mention that you were wanted by the New Republic?!”

“It slipped my mind!” Mando shouted back, speeding around the planet’s enormous clouds as the X-Wings gave chase.

“Razor Crest, _stand down. We will fire, I repeat, we_ will _fire._ ”

“Mando, you need to stop; the ship’s not gonna last long in this atmosphere!” She glanced over at one of the ship’s computer monitors and was alarmed to see it giving off a warning blink; instead of listening to her, Mando jerked the controls again and skidded the ship around a large cloud as the ship’s mechanisms creaked in protest. “Let me talk to them, they might listen to a former Rebel-”

She was cut off by her own scream as the Mandalorian steered the ship into a freefall through the cloudy sky. The Frog woman’s terrified scream mingled with her own, and even Mando was beginning to breathe heavily through his helmet’s modulator. “Pull up, pull up, pull up!” Mando finally pulled up as the ship left the cloud bank, hurriedly piloting the ship into an enormous icy trench, to which (Y/N) slapped a hand onto her forehead. “A _trench,_ Mando?! _That’s_ your escape plan?! These guys are _infamous_ for flying in trenches-!”

“Hey, the backseat flying’s not helping!” Mando barked out, narrowly avoiding slamming the ship into the side of the trench as he rapidly turned a corner. “Just hold on!”

The ship’s right engine hit the side of the icy trench, and that’s when (Y/N) had enough; lunging forward, she slammed her hand down on the ship’s communication radio and shouted out, “This is Captain (Y/N) (Y/L/N) of the Alliance Starfleet, disengage! We-!” She was suddenly knocked back down into her seat as the belly of the ship hit an icy plateau and skidded out of control. Glancing up, she watched as Mando engaged the thrusters and steered them to a sudden stop at the mouth of a wide cave.

Before (Y/N) could begin shouting at her partner, she suddenly remembered the fourth passenger on the ship. “Dank farrik, the kid!” She scrambled to her feet and was climbing down the ship’s ladder when the ship began to violently shudder and before she could finish descending, the ship went into a sudden freefall before slamming down onto the ground, throwing her across the cargo hold along with all their storage containers. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was a sharp pain at the back of her head and a biting cold breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!
> 
> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain  
> Mir’sheb-Smart-ass


	8. The Ship

_Chapter Eight  
The Ship_

Jolting awake, Din pushed himself off the ship’s dashboard and groaned; the last thing he remembered before being knocked unconscious was the ship falling through the ice that he’d landed on. He was still disoriented when he glanced down at his armor and noticed the thin layer of frost coating the beskar. He reached up and flipped several switches but before he could determine just how much damage the ship had sustained, a small whimper behind him made him quickly turn around; the Frog woman was curled up on the floor of the cockpit, violently shivering as her arms wrapped around herself to generate warmth. He knelt down and helped her back into her seat as she began to quickly croak at him and gesture towards the cockpit door. Her eggs, he suddenly remembered, they were in the cargo hold when we crashed…

“I’ll find your eggs, don’t worry,” Din promised her. “Gotta get you some blankets, keep you warm…” He hurried out the cockpit doors and jumped down into the cargo hold; there was a gaping hole in the side of the hull, through which snow and freezing-cold air was blowing, and different wires and cables hung limp from the ceiling. Storage containers were strewn across the whole floor, all covered in frost, and he found himself muttering a quiet “Damn it.”

It was then that he remembered the child and his partner, and he hurriedly opened his sleeping compartment only to see the child’s hammock empty. Fear clenched at his heart as he turned back to the cluttered floor. “Kid? (Y/N)?” The Frog woman’s frantic croaking echoed down and Din called up, “Hang on, I’m looking for your eggs!” He carefully began stepping through the mess and, after hearing a small noise, bent down and threw a tarp to the side to reveal the child, an egg in his hands as he stood before the open container. “No!” He quickly closed the lid and picked up the container of eggs to examine it. It was the second time he’d caught the child eating eggs, and he was worried that the passenger would eventually notice their absences. “I told you not to do that.” The Frog woman spoke out to him again and he answered. “Found them!”

“M-Mando?”

Eyes widening, Din set the container down inside the sleeping compartment and locked it before hurrying over to where the captain’s weak voice had come from. “Dank farrik!”

(Y/N) was at the end of the cargo hold, hidden behind a storage container with her left arm pinned underneath another one, and her lips were nearly blue from the cold. “I tried…I tried moving it, but-”

“It’s okay, _alor’ad_ , I’ve got it.” Careful not to jostle her arm, he lifted the container and set it down behind him, his heart dropping in his chest when he realized that her shoulder was bent at an unnatural angle and that she was shivering uncontrollably. “ _Osik_ …I’m gonna help you up now, okay? I need to push that shoulder back into its socket as quick as possible and I’ve gotta get you warm…” He leaned down and wrapped an arm around her waist, helping her stand before walking her over to another storage container. “Just sit here for a second, I’m gonna bring the Frog lady down here…”

Once he helped the Frog woman down the ladder and returned her eggs to her, he handed her a blanket and hurriedly fastened another over the hole in the hull in an attempt to begin warming the space. Then, he fixed (Y/N)’s dislocated shoulder and used the spare bandages from the med pack to bind her arm into a makeshift sling; she stifled her cry of pain behind her free hand and squeezed her eyes shut, but not before Din spotted the tears in her eyes. He knew first-hand how painful that kind of injury could be, so he didn’t judge his partner for what others would perceive as weakness. Once he was finished tending to her wound, he carefully wrapped a blanket around her and went to dig his spare heater out of the wreckage, turning it on and urging his companions to sit near it as he prepared a little dinner for them. (Y/N) quietly accepted her tray of food, her smile polite but her eyes betraying her anger towards him; suppressing a sigh of frustration, he turned away from her to glance at the Frog woman.

“If you hadn’t guessed, we’re in a tight spot; the main power drive’s not responding and the hull has lost its integrity. I suspect the temperature will drop significantly when night falls, and I’ll have a better idea of our prospects at that time.” He lowered himself onto the floor and leaned against the wall, making himself as comfortable as he could given the circumstances. The Frog woman began croaking urgently at him, gesturing to eggs while she did, and Din hopelessly answered, “I’m sorry, lady, I don’t understand Frog. Whatever it is, it can wait until morning.” He looked over at (Y/N), who was picking half-heartedly at her tray of food, and continued. “I recommend you both get some sleep.”

The captain didn’t acknowledge his words but when he crossed his arms and glanced back down, he noticed the child waddle his way over and cuddle against his side beneath his cape. Well, at least there’s one person who’s not angry with me, Din thought dejectedly to himself; (Y/N) was right, he shouldn’t have run from the New Republic rangers, but he’d panicked. He didn’t want to put any of them in danger, but that’s exactly what had happened anyway.

Before he fell asleep, Din watched as (Y/N) quietly set down her food and stood, removing the blanket from around her shoulders and placing it on top of the Frog woman’s eggs before settling down on the floor opposite him and wrapping her uninjured arm around herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wake up, Mandalorian.”

Din quickly jolted awake as the all-too familiar voice rang through the cargo hold, his blaster in his hand before he could fully register what he was looking at. Zero, the droid pilot from the prison breakout job, was still in pieces and secured to the wall of the ship, but a wire was now attached to its head and its opposite end was being held by the Frog woman; when she croaked again, Zero’s voice emitted from the head. “This cannot wait until morning. Do not be alarmed, I bypassed the droid’s security protocols and accessed its vocabulator.”

As (Y/N) and the child began to stir, Din holstered his blaster with more force than necessary. “What the hell are you doing? That droid is a killer.”

“These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle.” The Frog woman explained, resting a hand on her egg container sitting beside her. “My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species. We fought too hard and suffered too much to resign ourselves to the extinction of our family line. I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed to.”

“Look, lady, the deal is _off_ ,” He growled in frustration, gesturing at the wreckage around them. “We’re lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives!”

The Frog woman was unperturbed. “I thought honoring one’s word was a part of the Mandalorian code. I guess those are just stories for children.”

Across from him, (Y/N) visibly flinched at her words and the child looked up at him with near-pleading eyes; Din finally capitulated, easing the child off his lap before clambering to his feet, grabbing his toolkit and storming outside to assess the ship’s damages. The ship was in a bad shape but as he continued to examine it, he determined that it could thankfully still fly, albeit with a fair amount of patches and repairs. He was busy rewiring some of the broken cables near the engine when (Y/N) slowly approached him, a look of apprehension on her face as she knelt on the snow beside him.

“It’s, um…it looks a lot worse than it is. If the repairs go well, we can be out of here as soon as tomorrow.”

(Y/N) nodded. “Good, good. I…well, on the off-chance that we don’t, I just…I wanted to apologize for using your Creed against you when we first met.” His brow rose in surprise at her words; out of all the things he’d been expecting her to say, _that_ certainly hadn’t been one of them. “It wasn’t fair of me to throw it in your face to get what I wanted, and I’m sorry.”

Din was at a loss for words; almost from the moment he swore the Creed, people had ridiculed his way of life and would often try using it against him to gain an upper hand on him. It had bothered him at first but he’d eventually grown used to the jabs and insults, learning to ignore or shrug them off. (Y/N) was the first person he’d ever met who bothered to apologize to him for her words.

Seeing her begin to rise, he shook himself out of his astonishment and grabbed her wrist to halt her; she looked at him with widened eyes, and he cleared his throat before speaking. “Thank you. I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have run from those rangers, and I apologize for not listening to your warnings.” His partner’s usual cheery smile brightened her face at his words and Din blushed beneath his helmet, quickly turning back towards the ship and gesturing at hole in the hull. “You should get some rest, _alor’ad_. Your shoulder-”

“Feels perfectly fine, Mando. I can still help you with…” She trailed off, looking past him and furrowing her brow in confusion. “I think the little guy’s trying to tell us something.”

Looking in the same direction she was, Din’s eyes fell on the child, who was babbling and pointing at something on the other side of the ship. With a sigh of exasperation, he called over to him. “How about you come over here and give us a hand? Make yourself useful.” Instead of waddling over to them, the child walked behind the ship and out of sight. “Hey, kid!” He exchanged a look with (Y/N) and they both got to their feet, hurrying off after him. “I said, hey! Where are you going?”

“Come back here, little guy!” (Y/N) added; they turned the corner and made their way over to where the child had stopped.

Din knelt down beside him, instantly noticing the fresh footsteps in the snow. “When did she go?” According to his helmet’s thermal scan, it hadn’t been that long. With a small sigh, he picked up the child and stood. “It’s not safe for her to be out there alone. C’mon, let’s go.”

They slowly made their way through the icy caverns, careful not to make too much noise as they followed the Frog woman’s footsteps. Beside him, (Y/N) had drawn her blaster and was holding it in her good hand while Din kept a tight hold on the curious child in the crook of his arm. They turned a corner and found themselves standing within a massive cave; icicles the size of mudhorns hung from the ceiling and strange-looking objects rested all along the snow.

The familiar sounds of croaking caught Din’s attention and he looked over to see the Frog woman sitting in a glowing hot spring, with all her eggs floating at the top of the steaming water. “There you are,” He exhaled in relief, hurrying over to the hot spring with (Y/N) close behind him. “You can’t leave the ship, it’s not safe out here.” He set the child down at the edge of the water and knelt. “Let’s gather these up…”

Their passenger made a sound of protest as he began carefully putting her eggs back in her container; while he worked, he noticed (Y/N) sit down by the edge of the spring and give the Frog woman a sympathetic smile. “I know that it’s cold, but night’s coming fast and we can’t protect you out here; in the morning, Mando and I are gonna start working on repairs and we’ll be off this planet in no time. When we get back to the ship, I’ll look through my clothes for anything that’ll keep you and your eggs warm, okay?”

Because of the stunt she’d pulled earlier with the decapitated droid, Din knew that the Frog woman had understood the captain’s soothing words and with a nod of her head, she began helping him gather up the floating eggs. He glanced over at (Y/N) and couldn’t help but take note of how the faint glow from the hot spring illuminated her features; without thinking, he blurted out, “You’re good at that. Talking to people, I mean, making them feel comfortable. I just usually tend to scare them off and-No! No.” Din scolded the child, who’d taken advantage of his distraction and tried reaching for an egg. The child, looking a little more than miffed, walked away and he continued placing eggs into the container.

“Well, you haven’t managed to scare _me_ off.” (Y/N) remarked, the corner of her mouth curving into a teasing smile. “You must be slipping, Mando; I thought that bounty hunters, even former ones, were supposed to terrify _everybody_ they come across.”

Just as Din was about to indulge in their usual playful banter, the child’s cry echoed throughout the cave and his head whipped around in alarm; the child was running as fast as he could towards them, fear evident in his large eyes, and it didn’t take long for Din to realize why. The strange-looking objects that were strewn across the snow were beginning to shudder and hatch, and pale spiders of differing sizes began to emerge.

Quickly standing, he hurried over to where the child was and picked him up before backing away from the hatching creatures. His eyes widened in panic as more and more eggs began to break open, covering the floor of the cave with an ever-growing crowd of spiders. While he closed the lid of the egg container and slung it over his shoulder, the Frog woman hastily threw on her clothes and (Y/N) ushered her out of the hot spring; an echoing growl made the three of them look up and Din’s jaw dropped when an enormous spider, easily the size of his ship, crawled out of a deeper part of the cave.

“Go, go, go! Back to the ship!”

All three of them sprinted out of the cave and into the maze of icy tunnels, closely pursued by the swarm of spiders. While they ran, (Y/N) aimed her blaster and began shooting at the spiders behind them and Din, seeing spiders beginning to appear in front of them, drew his blaster and fired. A tunnel beside them was quickly blocked off when the massive spider shot a web at its entrance, so they quickly hurried down another; the Frog woman leapt past both Din and (Y/N), who were forced to holster their blasters so they could run faster from the advancing spiders. Although he couldn’t see it, he could hear the largest spider pursuing them from above, the impact of its legs shaking the frozen ceiling of the tunnel. A sharp cracking noise above alerted him to danger and his free hand shot out to haul the Frog woman back just as the spider’s long leg broke through the ceiling and was pulled up.

“Take her and get back to the ship, I’ll buy you some time!” Din yelled to (Y/N) as they ran.

The captain frantically shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving you behind!”

Thinking fast, Din pulled out three bombs and threw two of them on either side of the tunnel, then threw the third at the ceiling where the largest spider was. The bombs exploded, causing the tunnel to cave in on itself and he turned to watch the creature’s lifeless body crash to the ground before running after (Y/N) and the Frog woman. His partner had drawn her blaster again and was shooting at anything that moved; Din quickly did the same but once it became apparent that there were too many spiders to shoot and kill, he holstered his blaster and pushed (Y/N) and the Frog woman behind him before igniting the flamethrower on his vambrace.

White-hot flames shot out towards the swarm of spiders and instantly burned them to a crisp, but as the three of them continued to run, even more of the creatures began pursuing them. The broken-down ship finally came into view as he and (Y/N) continued firing their blasters at the spiders, and Din silently prayed that they’d be able to get the ship into the air in time to escape the swarm.

“Cover me!”

(Y/N) continued shooting spider after spider while Din turned and handed both the child and the egg container over to the Frog woman; he’d just ushered their passenger into the ship when the captain let out a cry of alarm, and he turned to see that her good arm had been webbed to the side of the ship. A smaller spider leapt towards them and on instinct, Din caught it in his fist and crushed it before throwing it aside; seeing the spiders inching closer to them, he helped (Y/N) wrench her arm free before pushing her into the ship and following after her. He continued blasting at the spiders as they followed them into the ship, scrambling up the ladder and shooting at the creatures as they emerged from the hole.

Seeing that his efforts were useless, Din stepped into the cockpit and tried closing its doors but the influx of spiders kept them from closing all the way. Desperate, he began shooting at the spiders through the crack in the door and (Y/N) quickly did the same, firing at the spiders that were lower down. The child’s fearful cry rang out over the sounds of their blasters firing and Din looked over just in time to see the Frog woman shoot at several small spiders that had been attacking him with a small blaster; their gazes met and he hurriedly nodded in thanks before turning and using his flamethrower to take care of the rest of the creatures. The door finally closed, but the danger hadn’t yet passed; the spiders had begun crawling over the outside of the ship.

“Strap yourselves in!” Din dropped down into the pilot’s seat, pressing buttons and flipping several switches; his hands flew over the various controls as he prepared the ship for take-off, and they were soon joined by (Y/N)’s good hand. They shared a brief glance before resuming their work, and he muttered under his breath to her, “This better work.”

“From your mouth to the Maker’s ears,” The captain replied, reaching over him to press a final button and letting out a sigh of relief as the ship shuddered to life. “We’re good to go!”

“I’ve got limited visibility, so it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.” He called out as they both pulled on the ship’s main lever; after a long moment, the engines began firing and the ship began to slowly rise. It continued to rise and as spiders began dropping off of it, (Y/N) glanced over at him with a hopeful grin that he couldn’t help but match underneath his helmet.

Their happiness was, predictably, short-lived. Something large and heavy landed on the top of the ship, slamming it back down into the ground; the force of the crash sent (Y/N) toppling onto his lap and while she struggled to right herself, Din watched through the ship’s viewport as the enormous spider he’d assumed had died prepared to pierce its leg into the cockpit. Quick as a flash, he wrapped his arms around his partner and pulled her closer to him just as its leg slammed into the space where her head had just been. Another leg slammed into the cockpit before being pulled out; all four of them watched in dread as the massive creature peered at them through the viewport. Somewhere behind him, the child whimpered in fear and he felt (Y/N) tense in his lap as the spider suddenly latched its mouth onto the viewport above them.

Its attack was stopped by an onslaught of blaster bolts and moments later, part of the spider’s carcass slid off the front of the ship. The sounds of blasters firing continued, illuminating the cockpit with red-tinted flashes; with her eyes widened in shock, (Y/N) turned to him and shakily asked, “Who the hell could that be?”

“I don’t know, but let’s find out.” He loosened his hold on the captain and let her stand before getting up; he made sure that the Frog woman and the child were unharmed before drawing his blaster and cautiously making his way down into the cargo hold. The entire space was covered in sticky spider webs and spider carcasses, and he was quick to shoot at one that was still crawling; with a brief glance at (Y/N), the two of them raised their blasters and slowly emerged from the ship to see their saviors.

“Son of a mud-scuffer, you’ve gotta be kidding me…” Din breathed out, watching as the two New Republic rangers sat atop their X-Wings and expertly shot down spider after spider that was still on the ship.

They soon stopped and watched as the two of them stepped forward, and the man on the right called out, “We ran the tabs on the _Razor Crest_. You have an arrest warrant for the abduction of Prisoner X-Six-Nine-Eleven.” Din kept his eyes on the two rangers but he could sense that (Y/N) was shooting him a look. “However, onboard security records show that you apprehended three priority culprits from the Wanted Register. Security records also show that you put your own life in harm’s way to protect that of Lieutenant Davan from the New Republic Correctional Corps. Is that true?”

“Am I under arrest?”

“Technically, you should be, but these are trying times.” The man glanced over at (Y/N), who had already holstered her blaster. “We also ran the credentials that you gave us, Captain (Y/N) (Y/L/N) of the Alliance Starfleet. According to your service record, you saved the lives of thousands of civilians during your years of service to the Rebellion; the New Republic owes you a great debt of gratitude.”

Clearing her throat, (Y/N) replied, “Thank you, Ranger.”

“Let’s say I forgo the bounties on those three criminals…” Din interjected, realizing that his partner was uncomfortable talking about her service record. “Can you two help me fuse my hull so I can get off this frozen rock?”

“Let’s say you fix that transponder, and we don’t vaporize that antique the next time we patrol the Rim?”

Fair enough, Din thought to himself as they watched the two X-Wings take off. They made their way back into the ship, where the Frog woman and the child were waiting for them. “All right, we’re gonna repair the cockpit enough for us to _limp_ to Trask. There’s nothing I can do about the main hull’s integrity, so we’re gonna have to get cozy in the cockpit.” His words brought back the memory of (Y/N) sitting in his lap and he was thankful that his helmet could mask his growing blush. “It’s the only thing I can pressurize. If you need to use the privy, do it now. It’s gonna be a long ride.”

With (Y/N)’s aid, the repairs were quickly completed and he said another silent prayer as he sat down in the pilot’s seat; the Frog woman was already strapped into her seat, her canister of eggs resting in her lap. (Y/N) dropped down into her own seat with an exhausted sigh and rested her feet on her storage container; since they couldn’t fix the main hull’s integrity, she insisted on moving her things into the cockpit to keep them safe.

“Okay, the repairs are all done,” Din informed the Frog woman, holding the child in his lap as he pressed the final buttons. “Let’s see if we can get this thing going once and for all.” He slowly pulled on the ship’s main lever and the ship shook itself to life; they continued to rise and in no time, they were leaving the frozen planet’s upper atmosphere. He breathed out a sigh of relief before turning to look at (Y/N). “Wake me up if someone shoots us, or if that door gets sucked off its rails.”

(Y/N) bit back a smile at his bad joke, but the sounds of the Frog woman’s concerned croak made the captain quickly look over at her and shake her head. “It’s okay, ma’am, that’s not gonna happen…”

“I’m kidding. If that happened we’d all be dead,” He continued, watching in amusement as the captain threw him an exasperated look and continued to reassure their passenger. “Sweet dreams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain  
> Osik-Shit


	9. The Heiress

_Chapter Nine  
The Heiress_

(Y/N) was woken from her deep sleep when the child nestled in her good arm began to squirm; she blinked her eyes open and yawned, still exhausted from the previous day’s events. I feel like I’ve been trampled by a Blurgg, she thought to herself as the tentatively rolled her injured shoulder and contorted her face in pain.

They’d have to restock their empty med pack while on Trask but before she could think to remind the Mandalorian, he called out, “Looks like we made it. Get ready for landing, everybody.” He smacked one of the side control panels. “Dank farrik!”

“Landing array’s not responding?” (Y/N) asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

Mando nodded as he worked. “Without the guidance system, it’ll be a manual re-entry. It might get choppy.”

“You’ve done this before?” He didn’t answer, but his silence told her everything she needed to know. “Well, that makes two of us…”

“Once we’re through the atmosphere, there should be enough fuel to slow us down…if we don’t burn to a crisp.”

“It’s okay, he’s just joking again.” (Y/N) smiled at the Frog woman as her grip on her egg container tightened but when she looked away, she murmured under her breath, “I hope.”

The ship lurched forward as it began its rapid descent onto Trask; their speed accelerated and (Y/N) watched with widened eyes as the outside of the ship burst into flames. Mando slapped his hand over a switch to turn off a warning alarm before shouting over his shoulder, “Come up here, (Y/N), I need your hand!” She jumped up and carefully set the cooing child onto her seat before hurrying to his side. “The ship’s main lever needs to stay back, can you do that?”

“I’m on it!” Using her good hand, (Y/N) pulled the lever back and held it tightly, jaw clenching as beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

The port quickly came into view just as a voice called out through the ship’s communication radio. “Razor Crest, _this is Trask flight control. Please reduce your speed to port protocol._ ”

“I’m trying my best here!” Mando growled out, one hand letting go of the joysticks to flip another switch. “Engage reverse thrusters… _brace_!” She planted her feet just as he pulled down another lever, causing the ship to shudder with the effort of slowing down. Behind them, the Frog woman shrieked in fright and the child giggled in excitement. “Hold on…” The voice emitting from the communication radio continued to speak, but (Y/N) ignored them as the concentrated on keeping the main lever steady. “Almost there…almost there…” As the ship neared the port, their speed finally began to slow and with a large jolt, it halted into a hover right above the landing dock. “Here we go, nice and easy.”

The ship lowered foot by foot and with a breathless laugh, (Y/N) glanced down at her partner. “That wasn’t so bad-”

The ship’s right engine blew out and sent their ship crashing sideways into the water beside the landing dock. Before (Y/N) could slam into the side of the cockpit, an arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her back, the movement causing her to topple backwards and land once-again in the lap of the Mandalorian.

“Dank farrik!” Mando swore, quickly glancing over his shoulder at the others. “Kid, Lady, are you okay?” The Frog woman let out a weary sort of croak and the child squealed in delight from his seat; (Y/N)’s amused smile faltered a little when he looked over at her, his helmet tilted a little in concern as he spoke. “You okay, _alor’ad_?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, I…” (Y/N) trailed off, losing her train of thought as she came to the realization that Mando’s arms were still secured around her and that her face was only inches away from the visor of his helmet. It could’ve just been her overactive imagination, but she could swear that his eyes were boring directly into hers and she briefly wondered what color they were before stammering out, “My, um…my shoulder, though…”

“We’ll restock our supplies while we’re here, get you an e-bacta shot,” Mando reassured her, and (Y/N)’s heart beat faster; the longer she’d been traveling with the Mandalorian, the more she’d realized how much she enjoyed listening to his low gravelly voice. “We should, um…we should probably head out now…”

Hastily apologizing, (Y/N) got off his lap and after gathering up their things, they waited for the harbor crane to lift them out of the water before making their way down to the landing dock. While Mando negotiated with a Mon Calamari over repairs, she winced under her breath when she got a good look at the _Razor Crest._ I hope all the horror stories about these guys and their repairs turn out to be wrong, she silently thought, remembering how her fellow Rebellion smugglers had cautioned her against seeking ship repairs from them when she first joined up.

(Y/N) glanced away from the derelict ship and watched as in the distance, the Frog woman ran towards who she could only assume was her husband. Her gaze met the Mandalorian’s visor and she beamed, happy that they’d successfully reunited their passenger and her eggs with her husband; they both made their way over to where the Frog woman and Frog man were kneeling and admiring the eggs in the container.

The child, who was floating beside them in his pram, let out a small coo and when (Y/N) looked down at him, she noticed that his brow looked more wrinkled than before. “You all right, little guy?”

Cooing again, the child stared up at them with wide eyes and Mando nodded. “I know you’re hungry. We’ll get you something to eat.” The Frog man got to his feet and clasped Mando’s hand in thanks as he let out a series of deep croaks. “You’re welcome.” (Y/N) shook hands with the Frog man next and smiled kindly at him, trying not to think about how caring and sincere her partner’s voice had sounded. “We were told you could lead us to others of my kind.” The Frog man nodded and pointed over at a building at the other end of the dock. “The inn, over there?”

The Frogs were preparing to lead them to the inn when (Y/N) noticed Mando looking off in the opposite direction, his shoulders noticeably tense. “Mando, you okay?”

He turned back to her and nodded. “Yeah, of course. C’mon, we shouldn’t keep them waiting…”

“You go ahead, I’ll walk down to the market and pick up some supplies.” Her partner paused a moment before reluctantly agreeing, and she leaned down and ran a hand across the child’s wrinkled green forehead. “I’ll see you soon, little guy. Have a good lunch!”

(Y/N) watched the small group disappear into the crowd before making her way to the nearby market; she purchased some medical supplies for their med pack and stopped in a deserted alleyway to administer an e-bacta shot to her shoulder, grinning in relief as she removed her arm from its sling and felt no pain. She then stocked up on ration packs and was about to make her way back to the inn when the aisle of clothing stalls caught her eye; checking her money pouch, she smiled and approached the first stall, intending on buying some fabric to sew the child a new set of robes.

While she was examining the different fabrics the Mon Calamari vendor was selling, her eyes fell on a large folded bundle of golden-yellow chiffon; the gorgeous fabric was embroidered with miniscule flowers and vines, and it instantly reminded her of the garden her mother had back on Naboo. Looking up at the vendor with a friendly smile, she asked, “Excuse me, how much for this fabric?”

“Twenty Flan.”

(Y/N)’s smile fell; she only had three Calamari Flan left and she knew that the vendor wouldn’t accept New Republic credits so with a heavy heart, she set the bundle down and pointed to a smaller bundle of tan fabric. “How much for that?”

“Two Flan.”

She paid for the fabric and tucked it carefully into her bag before taking one last look of longing at the beautiful chiffon. Maybe one day, you’ll be able to afford something like and finally make something your mother would be proud of, she thought with a sigh, turning and nearly running face-first into the Mandalorian’s chest plate. “Oh! I didn’t see you there, Mando. Did you find out where the Mandalorian covert’s located?”

He nodded. “A Quarren fisherman’s offered us passage on his boat, and I told him we’d be there in ten.” She watched as he looked over her shoulder towards the stall she’d just left. “What were you looking at?”

“Oh, nothing, just that gold-colored fabric.” Shrugging in an offhand manner, (Y/N) gestured towards the crowded port in the distance. “C’mon, we probably shouldn’t keep the man waiting…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sailing on the choppy waves of Trask was nothing like (Y/N) was used to; when she was a child, her mother would take her to the Lake Country of Naboo once a year and they’d sometimes take a rowing boat out onto the warm, glass-like waters. On Trask, though, the water was rough and the chilly wind caused their boat to rock from side to side as they sailed, but after their misadventure on Maldo Kreis, (Y/N) found the boat ride to be a nice change of pace.

Hearing the child begin to babble again, (Y/N) looked away from the horizon and smiled down at him in his pram. “Do you like the water too, little guy?” His incoherent chattering grew more insistent as he pointed a tiny clawed hand at the waves. “Are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?” The child’s ears perked up at her words and she chuckled before reaching into her bag for her canteen. “Looks like I’m getting better at understanding you!”

“I think it’s the ears that make it easier; they’re like big green signal flags.”

(Y/N) glanced up at Mando as she helped the child take a few sips of water and laughed. “They are, aren’t they? _Very cute_ signal flags.” She tucked the canteen back into her bag and stroked a finger across the edge of one of the child’s ears, her smile widening as he let out an adorable little squeal. “I bought some fabric for him at the market earlier; the little guy should have more than one set of clothing, don’t you think?”

The Mandalorian hummed in agreement beside her and while she continued playing with the child, she could feel his eyes on her the whole time. After a few minutes, a Quarren approached them and stood at the railing of the boat before speaking. “You ever see a mamacore eat?” Mando didn’t answer but (Y/N), in an attempt to be polite to their hosts, shook her head. “Quite a sight. The child might take an interest.” She glanced back at the child, whose eyes were indeed widened in wonder as he looked around the boat. “You should take a look.”

Mando’s helmet turned towards her and she shrugged; it couldn’t hurt to indulge their hosts, especially since they were doing them such a large favor. (Y/N) followed her partner and the child’s pram over to the large metal grating covering an opening in the middle of the deck. “Get a good view, let the kid see.”

“All right, close enough.” Mando’s hand came to rest on the curve of her waist, holding her close to his side as the Quarren fishermen opened the grate. Blushing, (Y/N) tried not to look too deeply into his action, since it was clear that he was only keeping her from accidentally falling into the opening, but she couldn’t help but enjoy being so close to him. While the three of them watched, the Quarren emptied a net of fish into the opening and after a beat, the water began bubbling up as the sea creature devoured its food.

“She must be hungry,” The Quarren from before remarked, moving to stand beside the child’s pram as he watched the feeding. “Oftentimes we’ll feed her in the early morning, but we missed that ‘cause we were goin’ out of _port_!”

Quick as a flash, the Quarren used his fishing gaff to push the child’s pram out into the center of the large opening. “No!” She and Mando exclaimed but before either of them could do anything, the child closed the pram just as the mamacore lunged out of the water and consumed it whole; without a single thought other than the child, (Y/N) dove into the opening alongside Mando, holding her breath and drawing her blaster just as her body hit the water. The water was dark and murky, making it difficult for her to spot the sea creature; in desperation, she fired off a shot into the depths and squinted, trying and failing to make out the enormous shape of the mamacore in the brief red light of the blaster bolt. She managed to fire off three more shots before she was forced to kick up to the surface for air; the Quarren had replaced the grate over the opening and she was forced to shift out of the way of an oncoming fishing gaff, losing her grip on her blaster as she did. They’re trying to drown us, she thought before spotting the Mandalorian at the opposite side of the opening. He was clutching tightly to the grate above them and deeply coughing as the Quarren fishermen continued to slam their gaffs against his beskar armor, obviously struggling to stay afloat with his heavy armor on.

Before (Y/N) could do anything, a Mandalorian dropped down from the grey sky and onto the deck of the boat. They fought off the Quarren fishermen as they were soon joined by two other Mandalorians and while they brawled, (Y/N) quickly swam over Mando. “C’mon, Mando, stay with me!” She held onto the grate with one hand and wrapped her free arm around his torso, using all her strength to hoist him up and keep his head above the water as he gasped for breath.

The grate slid open and they were forced to let go as one of the Mandalorians knelt down and offered them their hand. “Take my hand.” Mando grabbed it and the strange Mandalorian began pulling him out of the water.

“There’s a creature, it has the child…” Mando coughed out.

A second Mandalorian began helping (Y/N) out of the opening as she hurriedly added, “It’s a mamacore, it swallowed the child’s pram!”

“On it!” The third Mandalorian dove into the water and disappeared beneath the surface.

Both Mandalorians guided (Y/N) and Mando to sit on top of a stack of fishermen’s ropes, and her partner continued to fight for air as he gestured to the opening. “The child…help the child…”

“Don’t worry, brother, we’ve got this.”

As the two Mandalorians turned back to the opening in the deck, (Y/N) leaned forward and rested her hands on his pauldrons, her eyes darting over his body in search of injuries. “Are you okay, Mando? They didn’t hit you?” He managed a weak head-shake and she couldn’t stop herself from surging forward to pull him into a hug; after a moment, his arm wrapped loosely around her waist as he returned the gesture.

They separated just as the Mandalorian flew out of the water, the child’s dented pram in her arms. (Y/N)’s heart dropped and fear settled in her stomach as she watched the Mandalorian set the pram down on the deck of the boat and wrenched part of its lid off, but she soon let out a shaky sigh of relief when she realized that the child was unharmed. With gentle hands, the Mandalorian reached inside the ruined pram and pulled the child out. “Here you go, little one.”

The Mandalorian handed the child to Mando, who held the child between them and examined him for injuries before looking up at the three warriors. “Thank you. I’ve been searching for more of our kind.”

“Well, lucky we found you first.” The Mandalorian closest to them remarked; while they spoke, the Mandalorian who’d jumped into the water handed (Y/N) back her blaster she’d accidentally dropped, and she nodded in thanks before holstering it.

“My partner and I have been quested to deliver this child. I was hoping that-” Mando stopped short and when (Y/N) looked up from the child, she instantly knew why: the Mandalorians, all three of them, had taken their helmets off. As a smuggler, she’d seen a fair bit of the galaxy but in all that time, she couldn’t claim to have ever witnessed a Mandalorian take off their helmets before. Maybe they’re similar to Cobb Vanth, she thought to herself, her brow furrowing as she watched her partner stagger to his feet. She got to her feet and stood beside him as he addressed the red-haired woman who’d helped him out of the water. “Where did you get that armor?”

The woman looked taken aback by his accusatory tone as she replied, “This armor has been in my family for three generations.”

“You do not cover your face. You are not Mandalorian.”

“He’s one of them.” The man who’d aided (Y/N) muttered, and the woman standing behind him cursed under her breath.

“One of _what_?”

The red-haired woman frowned but took a step closer towards them. “I am Bo-Katan of Clan Kryze. I was born on Mandalore and fought in the Purge…I am the last of my line. And _you_ are a Child of the Watch.”

(Y/N)’s frown deepened at her words, and she wasn’t the only one who was confused. “The Watch?” Mando asked, his question dripping with contention.

Bo-Katan nodded once. “Children of the Watch are a cult of religious zealots that broke away from Mandalorian society.” She glanced down at the child in Mando’s arm before continuing. “Their goal was to re-establish the ancient Way.”

Mando was silent for a moment as he stared down Bo-Katan, finally answering her with a gruff, “There’s only one Way: The Way of the Mandalore.” He turned his back on the three Mandalorians and wrapped an arm around a surprised (Y/N) before activating his jetpack and flying off into the sky. She was quick to fling her arms around him and shut her eyes, still weary of flying by jetpack, but she decided that it would be wise not to say anything in that moment. From what she’d gathered from their encounter with the other Mandalorians, her partner was coming to the painful realization that the beliefs his covert had indoctrinated him with were all lies.

They flew back towards the port in complete silence; even the child seemed to be aware of the tension radiating off Mando, as he was resting quietly in the crook of his arm. It was only when they’d begun their descent that her partner finally spoke. “Thank you…for helping me back there.”

“Of course.” Their feet touched the ground, but (Y/N) didn’t release her hold on the Mandalorian; his helmet tilted to the side as he looked down at her, but he also didn’t remove his arms from around her. “I just wanted to…well, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

Mando nodded once, the visor of his helmet still trained on her; his gloved hand flexed, pressing a little tighter into her waist, and she realized that he was hugging her in his own restrained sort of way. The realization made her unwittingly tremble, and the small movement seemed to shake him out of his thoughts. “You’re shivering, _alor’ad_.” He pulled away from her but placed his hand on the small of her waist to urge her to follow him. “C’mon, the Frogs offered us a place to stay tonight; you’ll get sick if you don’t change out of those wet clothes soon…”

They walked through the busy port and down the narrow streets until they reached the home of the Frogs; their hosts had graciously allowed them to stay in their spare room and when (Y/N) spotted the bed, she nearly whimpered in relief. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept in a real bed, but her excitement soon turned to panic when she finally grasped that she’d be sharing a bed with her partner, the same partner she’d been beginning to harbor feelings for.

Mando left the Frogs’ home with the child shortly after they arrived, claiming that he had to check and see how the repairs to the _Razor Crest_ were going, but (Y/N) wasn’t so easily fooled; he wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while and didn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her so. She didn’t mind, though, as it had been a rather trying day for all of them and his absence gave her a little time to compose herself.

“He’s just your partner, nothing more.” (Y/N) scolded herself, tugging on her newly-dried boots and taking a deep breath before leaving their room to rejoin their hosts. She sat at their small table and watched as the new parents examined their eggs floating in the large carrying container, smiling to herself whenever they pressed their foreheads together or squeezed each other’s hands.

A while later, as they were still waiting for the eggs to hatch, the door of their home slid open to reveal Mando and the child; (Y/N) instantly recognized the tension in his stance and with a quick glance at the distracted Frogs, she got up from the table and made her way over to the Mandalorian as he spoke. “The other Mandalorians recruited me for a mission in exchange for information on where to find a Jedi.”

(Y/N) raised her brows in surprise. “What sort of mission?”

“They’re seizing weapons from an Imperial freighter so they can use them to retake Mandalore.” Mando answered, glancing down at the child in his arms. “It’s too dangerous to bring the child along and after the boat, I don’t trust a lot of this planet’s inhabitants; will you look after him while I’m gone?”

“Of course, Mando.” She nodded, taking the child from him and reaching forward to rest a hand on his forearm. “Good luck.”

They walked over to the table and the Frogs finally looked up from their eggs. “Something’s come up. Do you mind if (Y/N) and the child stay here without me?” Both Frogs croaked and nodded, and Mando turned his attention to the curious child in her arms. “You’re gonna stay here with (Y/N). So, I want you to be respectful and mind your manners; you know what I’m talking about.” (Y/N) frowned in confusion at his cryptic warning but was quickly distracted when her partner looked up at her. “I’ll be back soon, _alor’ad_. Take care.” He turned and left the home.

That evening, once (Y/N) had left the child in the company of the Frogs and gone to bed, her worried thoughts for her partner were punctuated by an occasional pang of disappointment; as hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t stop imagining how tortuously pleasant it would’ve been to sleep beside the Mandalorian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I guess a thousand credits doesn’t get you much these days.” (Y/N) remarked, sitting in the pilot’s chair and heaving a small sigh as she observed the derelict cockpit. “At least we now have an endless supply of fishing line and netting at our disposal.”

Setting the child down on one of the passenger’s seats, Mando stood beside her and helped prepare the ship for take-off. “ _Mon Calamari_. Remind me never to stop here for repairs again.” His gloved hand hovered over the navigation computer’s controls. “Bo-Katan told me that the Jedi Ahsoka Tano is on Corvus.”

(Y/N) furrowed her brow. “That’s a long ways away from here; three sectors, if I’m not mistaken. We’re gonna be in hyperspace for a while.”

“That should give us plenty of time to make our own repairs to the _Crest_.” Mando went about charting their course while she flipped various switches. “Maker knows we’ll have a lot of ‘em to do.”

She glanced over at the Mandalorian standing beside her and arched a teasing brow. “Oh, ye of little faith; I’m sure that the ship won’t need _that_ many-” As she spoke, one of the side panels sparked and began ominously humming. Her partner tilted his helmet to the side in an ‘I-told-you-so’ manner and she shot him a hard glare. “Not a word out of you, _mir'sheb_.”

“Whatever you say, _alor’ad_.”

Soon after, they had departed Trask and were flying through hyperspace. (Y/N) had convinced Mando to get some rest after his exciting adventure with Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians the night before, and once he left the cockpit with the drowsy child cradled in his arms, she slid out of the pilot’s chair and sat cross-legged in front of her storage container. Opening it up, she went to reach for her mother’s leather-bound sketchbook but stopped short, her eyes widening in surprise at what she saw.

Resting on the top of her possessions was the familiar bundle of golden-yellow chiffon from the market and a wrapped package of sweets that she instantly knew were _uj’alayi._ I suppose even ex-bounty hunters have a soft side, (Y/N) thought to herself with a gentle smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!
> 
> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain  
> Mir’sheb-Smart-ass  
> Uj’alayi-Uj Cake


	10. The Repairs

_Chapter Ten  
The Repairs_

“Son of a mud-scuffer, Mando!” (Y/N) groaned in pain, making no attempt to get up off the floor of the ship that she’d been knocked down onto. “ _Ow_ …you did that on purpose…”

Beneath his helmet, Din rolled his eyes in exasperation; he stood above the captain with his hands resting on his hips as he heaved a sigh. “That’s kinda the point, isn’t it? An attacker’s not gonna go easy on you just ‘cause you asked them nicely to.”

Din, (Y/N) and the child had been traveling through space for a little over three weeks; in that time, they’d been slowly but surely working on the repairs that the Mon Calamari hadn’t completed. Neither of them were very knowledgeable mechanics, but they did their best as they worked side-by-side.

Whenever they weren’t doing repairs, they relaxed in the cargo hold; Din would work on cleaning his weapons and entertaining the child while (Y/N) sewed, and they’d usually fall into easy conversation. True to her word, she’d quickly completed a new robe for the child – much to the kid’s delight – before starting on what appeared to be a golden-yellow dress. The captain hadn’t said anything to Din about his impromptu gifts of fabric and sweets, but he could clearly see how much the gesture meant to her; he’d often sit and secretly watch her work, admiring how carefully her hands moved across the delicate material and how her eyes narrowed in concentration. She was happy, and he was proud that he’d been the one to help give that to her.

But whenever they weren’t working or relaxing, they were training; Din hadn’t forgotten his promise to teach his partner how to fight and after their recent adventures, he decided that it would be wise for her to learn sooner rather than later. I’d feel a lot better going to Corvus to confront a Jedi if I knew she’d be safe, he thought to himself one evening as he lay awake in his bunk, remembering how easily she’d been overpowered by the Black Sun operatives and the bandits on Tatooine.

“Okay, okay,” He watched as (Y/N) gritted her teeth and clambered to her feet, her brow covered in perspiration. “Can you repeat what you said one more time before we try again?”

“Of course. More often than not, you’ll go up against attackers who’re bigger than you and maybe even stronger, so you use all that to your advantage; a well-placed kick or punch could easily change the course of a fight, but what really matters is that you act faster than they do.” Moving to stand in front of her, Din gestured for her to raise her fists. “Now, I’m gonna attack you and you’re gonna do whatever you can think of to knock me down. Got it?”

(Y/N) nodded, her eyes narrowed and body tensed in preparation, and Din threw his first punch. His partner managed to block it and twist out of the way of his second attack, sucker-punching him hard in his un-armored stomach and hooking her leg around his as he doubled over in surprise; she took advantage of his off-balance by shoving him down, where he landed flat on his back.

Din couldn’t help but grin as the captain let out a celebratory cheer at her success. “I finally did it!”

“Good job, _alor’ad_ …” Deciding to have a little fun with her, he held his arm out towards her; the captain, being the kind-hearted woman that she was, grasped his hand to help him stand and that’s when he acted. He yanked on her arm and brought a foot up to her stomach, flipping her over him and onto her back before quickly maneuvering so that he was straddling her waist and trapping her against the floor of the ship with his hands on her wrists. “…but you should never let your guard down around an enemy.”

Struggling to catch her breath, (Y/N) flashed him a teasing grin. “ _Mir'sheb_. You’ve been waiting to do that since our very first sparring lesson, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Din replied, only then realizing that his joke might not have been the smartest idea; in their current positions, their bodies were flush with one another and being so close to her was only causing his head to spin and his face to warm. In an attempt to save face in front of his partner, he hurriedly continued. “How would you break away from an attacker who has you boxed in like this?”

(Y/N) bit her bottom lip in thought as she considered his question; Maker have mercy on me, he thought to himself, swallowing hard and forcing himself to avert his gaze from the tempting sight. “Well, it seems like the only way to gain the upper hand in this, um… _position_ , is to use the attacker’s weight against them.” Before he could reply, she hooked her right foot around his leg and in one fluid motion, she flipped them over so that she was straddling his torso and he was the one now lying flat on his back. “How was that?”

Din let out a breathless chuckle. “Perfect, _alor’ad_. You’re coming along great.”

“Well, I guess I have my ex-bounty hunter instructor to thank for that.”

“That mean you’re finally admitting that bounty hunters are better than smugglers?”

Her smirk widened and she shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe better at _bragging_ , but that’s about it.”

As she looked down at him with (Y/E/C) eyes twinkling in amusement, Din realized with a sudden jolt that their innocent flirting was rapidly on its way to becoming something much more complicated; his gloved hands had somehow found their way to her hips while they talked, and one of the captain’s thumbs was resting tantalizingly close to the collar of his undershirt and was only centimeters from touching the bare skin of his neck.

With his heart hammering in his chest, he struggled to find his voice but was mercifully saved by a familiar coo; they both looked over to see the child standing beside them, his brow wrinkled in concern as he stared at them with widened eyes, and (Y/N) laughed. “Aw, it’s okay, little guy, I promise I’m not hurting Mando.” She moved to kneel next to the child and pointed towards Din, who was sitting up and trying not to think about how much he missed their closeness. “See? The only thing that’s bruised is his ego!”

“Just for that, _alor’ad_ , you’re the one who gets to change the kid today.” Smirking at the look of stunned disbelief on (Y/N)’s face, Din got to his feet and made his way over to the ladder. “Have fun!”

Her protests followed him as he climbed the ladder to the cockpit to don his armor. “Oh, come on, Mando, I was only joking! Mando? Mando! Dank farrik…”

Once Din put his armor back on, he and (Y/N) decided to try their hand at some of the more complicated repairs in the cockpit. Their work kept them busy and at opposite ends of the small space, much to Din’s relief; the temptation to touch or even be near the captain like he’d been when they were sparring was overwhelming, but it helped a little to have a complex distraction to focus on.

“Hey Mando, could you hand me those pliers on the control panel?”

Din, who was seated in the pilot’s chair and had been busy testing which switches were still operational, glanced over and nearly fell out of his seat. (Y/N) was standing on the right passenger’s chair, her arms elbow-deep in an exposed panel full of tangled wiring, but that’s not what had stunned him; it was the full, unobstructed view of her trouser-clad hips and legs right in front of him. So much for those complex distractions, he thought with an inward groan, trying and failing to avert his gaze from the appealing sight.

“Mando? The pliers?”

“Right, right,” Giving his head a small shake, he grabbed the pliers and stood, leaning against the wall of the cockpit as he handed the tool to her. “How’re the repairs going up there?”

(Y/N) smiled to herself while she continued rewiring. “Well, we _should_ be able to land safely and avoid plummeting to our deaths now but I’m not making any promises, though. What about you? Did you get the hyperdrive fixed yet?”

“No, not yet. I have to rewire the ship’s circuit board, which just so happens to be four feet behind that tiny opening there.” Din pointed to the opening in question before sighing. “You don’t think you’d be able to reach your arm in there, do you?” The captain shot him an ‘are-you-being-serious’ look, to which he merely shrugged and glanced back at the opening. “I figured I’d ask just in case. Unfortunately, it’s one of those kinds of repairs that a ship can’t function properly without; we just need to find something small to fit…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…I’m beginning to think this might’ve been a bad idea, Mando.”

Din shot (Y/N) a look of disbelief from under his helmet. “But it was _your_ idea!”

“Yeah, but _you’re_ the one who agreed to it; as my partner, you really should have better sense than to indulge my off-the-cuff ideas,” (Y/N) retorted, crossing her arms as she knelt beside the small opening; she nervously bit her lip as her brow furrowed in worry. “He’s just a baby, after all.”

Although her comment was fair, her words sparked a surge of protectiveness towards the child. “He’s not just a baby, _alor’ad,_ he’s special. He understands a lot more than people realize and with all the crazy power he has, I’m sure he’ll be able to help us rewire a simple circuit board.” Din turned back to the control panels and began flipping switches. “All right, let’s try this again…okay, do you have the wire?” He asked over his shoulder, hearing a faint coo as one of the ship’s alarms began to blare; pressing another button, he shut off the alarm and sighed. “No, nothing.”

He got up from the pilot’s seat and went over to kneel beside (Y/N) as she patiently called out, “Did you get the wire out? The red wire?”

Peering into the opening, Din watched as the child let out a small coo and raised the tiny hand that held the blue wire, and he pointedly ignored the skeptical look the captain threw him. “No, no. No, the red one, show me the red wire. The red one.” The child looked down at the wires in his hands before waving the blue one around, and Din fought the proud smile that was tugging at his lips. “Yes, good. Now, you’re going to plug that red wire where the blue wire goes in the board.”

“I think you might’ve confused him…” (Y/N) whispered as they both watched the child tilt his head; she leaned in closer and called out, “Okay, little guy, you’re gonna put the _red_ wire where the _blue_ wire goes in the board. Okay?”

“But don’t let them touch!” Din hastily added, noticing how close the two wires were to one another; the child tilted his head again and let out a confused sort of whimper. “You see where you took the blue one off?” The child held up the blue wire and he nodded. “Yes. Now, put the red one – no, don’t put the blue one back. Put the red one where the blue one was, and put the blue one where the red one was.”

With the added hand gestures, Din was confident that the child had understood his instructions but beside him, (Y/N) had resumed nervously biting her lip. “But be careful, little guy. They’re oppositely charged, so keep them away from each other; make sure you hold them apart.”

The child ignored the captain’s warning and while he brought the two wires closer, Din frantically shook his head. “No, don’t let them touch-” He and (Y/N) both jumped when the wires connected and sent an electric shock through the child’s body, briefly surrounding him in bright sparks and smoke; once it dissipated, Din hesitantly asked, “You okay?” The child coughed in response, but he seemed to be uninjured, much to Din’s relief. He glanced over at (Y/N) and met her ‘I-told-you-so’ expression with a sheepish sort of shrug. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

“If you say so, Mando. I’m gonna go prepare some broth for him now.” His partner got to her feet and gave his arm a pat before turning and making her way down to the cargo hold; her touch seemed to send an electric shock through Din, his skin flushing as he once again remembered their earlier closeness, and he let out a shaky breath.

Looking back to the opening, the sight of the child standing at its entrance with widened eyes caused him to smile. “C’mon, kid, let’s get you some lunch for your hard work.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din sat beside the child on one of their storage containers and enjoyed some warm broth, since (Y/N) insisted that he needed to eat something as well. Although he’d explained that lifting his helmet to take sips of broth in front of her and the child wouldn’t break his Creed, she insisted on sitting behind him on her makeshift cot and sewing so that he’d have more privacy. Her consideration for his Creed was touching, but after his confrontation with Bo-Katan and the other Mandalorians on Trask, he found himself realizing that for the first time in his life, someone else cared more about his Creed than he did. His recent feelings towards his Creed were… _complicated_ , to say the least; if what Bo-Katan said was true, then he’d grown up within a cult of religious zealots who’d coerced him into swearing a Creed than wasn’t truly Mandalorian but on the other hand, the so-called Watch had saved him as a child and raised him after he’d lost his parents, and that was a kindness he couldn’t just ignore.

“You’re kinda quiet over there, Mando.”

Smiling to himself at her unspoken question, Din lifted the bottom of his helmet up and swallowed a sip of broth before answering. “Yeah, just lost in thought. Are you ever gonna tell me what it is you’re making?”

Her laugh carried through the cargo hold, and Din was reminded of how much he enjoyed hearing the sound. “What’s it look like I’m making, a fathier blanket? It’s a dress!”

“ _Mir'sheb_. I _know_ you’re making a dress but I was just wondering…well, why? Dresses aren’t exactly practical in our line of work, _alor’ad_.”

The captain was quiet for a moment and just as Din silently cursed his bluntness, she replied, “Ever since I was little, I had a dream of settling down on a peaceful planet and opening up my own shop, just like my mother had done. But then the Empire tightened their control of Naboo, she died of illness and I fell into the smuggling life…and suddenly, my dream seemed irrelevant. When the Rebellion finally ended and the New Republic was established, I began thinking about that childhood dream again; the way I see it, if I can create this _one_ thing with only my mother’s sketchbook and the memories of my old trade to guide me, then I’ll know whether or not I’m meant for the life I’d envisioned for myself.” The cargo hold was silent for a moment. “What about you? What kind of future do you imagine for yourself?”

“I don’t know,” Din answered truthfully, the words almost falling out of his mouth as he continued. “Living the life I’ve lead, I…well, a future’s never a guarantee, so I never allowed myself to imagine one. But if I had to, I don’t think I’d want any specific future…just a peaceful one…” He didn’t know what else to say; he couldn’t exactly follow up something heavy like that with a witty comeback, so he merely nodded and glanced down at the child, who was happily drinking the last of his broth. “You want some more broth, kid?” The child tilted his head and held out his empty bowl towards Din, who couldn’t help but smile as he ladled some more broth into it. “There you go.” The child began gulping down his second helping, and Din glanced around the derelict cargo hold with a sigh. “You know, there’s no way we’re making it to Corvus in this shape.”

“I’ll have to agree with you on that. With the hyperdrive broken, it won’t be long before we’re fighting off bandits and bounty hunters.”

“You know, I think we need to visit some friends for repairs,” Din remarked, turning around to meet (Y/N)’s curious expression. “How’d you like to visit Navarro?”

“Navarro, huh? I’ve never been, but it sounds a lot better than floating around in space like a sitting porg.” Setting aside her bundle of fabric, (Y/N) got to her feet and gestured over to the ladder with a tentative smile. “Wanna help me chart our course, Mando? You can tell me about these friends of yours while we work…”

Din nodded and the captain’s smile widened as she began climbing up the ladder to the cockpit. Making sure that the child had everything he needed, Din hurried up into the cockpit after her; maybe a peaceful future wasn’t in the cards for him, but he’d be damned if he didn’t enjoy the brief moments of happiness whenever he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!
> 
> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain  
> Mir’sheb-Smart-ass


	11. The Siege

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Disclaimer for a brief description of a panic attack*

_Chapter Eleven  
The Siege_

“Okay, now ease down on the lever…”

While Mando piloted the _Razor Crest_ through the clouds of Nevarro, he glanced over his shoulder at (Y/N) and heaved one of his trademark sighs of exasperation. “I thought I hired a partner, not a piloting instructor.”

“I’m sorry but out of the two of us, which one crashed a ship onto an inhospitable ice planet and then straight into a harbor?” (Y/N) asked, sarcasm lacing her words; the Mandalorian didn’t say anything as he turned back around and her smile only widened. “You know, it’s funny how I can’t see your eyes and yet I _always_ know when you’re rolling them at me.” She looked down at the child in her lap, who was busy playing with his silver orb. “Mando’s pretty silly, isn’t he, little guy?”

The child squealed in delight when she wriggled her fingers at his sides and she laughed; she’d never been very good with children but the longer she’d been near the small green child, the more comfortable she’d become with him. To her surprise, the feeling seemed to be mutual; although he still preferred to be held by Mando, there were times when he’d practically demand her attention no matter what she was already doing. It was a little odd at first, to have another being want her around so much, but she’d grown used to it.

Despite her earlier teasing, Mando managed to land the ship as smoothly as he could at the outskirts of the small town; he took the child from her and waited for her to finish strapping her blaster to her waist before lowering the back ramp. It succeeded in lowering itself halfway before seizing up and after exchanging identical sighs of defeat, they both walked out onto the ramp and jumped the short way down to the ground.

A man and a woman, who (Y/N) immediately recognized as Greef Karga and Cara Dune, stood by and watched as they approached them. Karga was the first to speak, exclaiming, “Looks like someone could use some repairs!”

Mando firmly shook his hand. “How’s my credit around here?”

“I think something can be arranged. Isn’t that right, Marshal?”

Cara smiled beside him, reaching forward to affectionately stroke the child’s large ear. “I’m sure we can work something out.” When she straightened, (Y/N) caught sight of the tattooed stripes on her right bicep and instantly recognized them as the marks of a Rebel drop soldier; before she could say or do anything, though, she met Cara’s gaze and finally noticed the small Rebel Alliance tear tattooed at the corner of her eye. (Y/N)’s blood turned to ice at the sight; she’s from Alderran, she thought with dread, hoping with all her might that the marshal couldn’t detect her hint of a Mid-Rim accent and realize she was Naboo. Within the Rebel Alliance, those from Naboo were treated with resentment by the survivors of Alderran, as they blamed the planet for the rise of the Empire, and (Y/N) quickly learned to hide her planet of origin from other Rebellion smugglers. Thankfully, though, Cara only looked at her with a curious gleam in her eye. “I see you brought a friend, Mando. Aren’t you gonna introduce us?”

“This is (Y/N), my newest crew member; I brought her on to help with my quest. (Y/N), this is Cara Dune.”

“I-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cara.” With a nervous smile, (Y/N) shook the marshal’s outstretched hand. “Mando’s told me a little about you.”

“All good things?”

“Oh, I’m sure; Mando’s our pal, after all!” Karga clasped her hand between his and grinned. “Greef Karga. It’s an honor to welcome any friend of Mando’s to Nevarro, but _especially_ one as charming as you.”

While (Y/N) raised a brow at his compliment, Mando rested his free hand on his hip and tilted his helmet. “The ship, Karga?”

“I’ll get my best people on it.” Karga turned to a couple of mechanics working nearby. “Hey, fellas, let’s fix this man’s ship! I want it good as new!” In the crook of Mando’s arm, the child cooed and Karga’s grin widened. “And _you_. Come here, little one!” Karga lifted the child up and laughed. “Have Mando and (Y/N) been taking good care of you, huh?” The magistrate looked up from the child and shot them both a stern look. “Have you two been taking good care of him?” Hearing the child coo again, Karga chuckled. “Yeah? Yeah, he said ‘yeah!’”

Still talking to the child nestled in his arms, Karga turned and began walking back to the town; the three of them followed, (Y/N) with carefully concealed reluctance. Just as she was about to tell Mando she’d rather stay with the ship and oversee its repairs, Cara glanced over at them with narrowed eyes. “So, how long have you two been working together?”

“A couple of months. We met when she hired me to help her with a job and once I saw her piloting abilities, I asked her to join my crew.” Mando didn’t elaborate further and (Y/N)’s shoulders nearly sagged in relief; she suspected that her partner had picked up on her discomfort but she wasn’t positive until he rested a comforting hand on her lower back as they made their way through a bustling market. “Looks like you two’ve been busy.”

“I myself have been steeped in clerical work,” Karga called out over his shoulder. “Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town.”

Cara merely shrugged, turning her attention back to Mando. “Your ship’s not lookin’ too good.”

“We had a run-in with the New Republic.”

(Y/N) bit back a smile at her partner’s purposefully vague explanation and listened as Karga muttered, “They should leave the Outer Rim alone. If the Empire couldn’t settle it, what makes them think they can?” They stopped in front of a large building and he reached for the door’s control panel. “Here we are.”

While Karga was busy pressing buttons, Mando tilted his helmet and let out a contemplative hum. “I’m surprised to see this place still standing.”

“Just wait ‘til you see inside.” The marshal smiled before turning and following Karga into the building.

(Y/N) and Mando trailed behind, standing beside the two and taking in the scene before them; they were inside of a school room, and she’d visited enough cantinas in her lifetime to realize what the building had formerly housed. Rows of children seated at desks were listening with rapt attention as a protocol droid pointed to a star chart and lectured about the galaxy, and (Y/N)’s heart warmed at the sight.

“A school?” Mando asked, and judging by the tone of his voice, he was also endeared by the peaceful sight.

Cara grinned and nodded as they looked on. “Things have changed a lot around here.”

“We’ll leave the little one here so we can talk business.”

Her brow furrowing in concern, (Y/N) held up a hand to stop the magistrate from leaving. “Wait…”

“Wherever we go, he goes.” Mando added, worry lacing his words as he glanced down at the wide-eyed child in Karga’s arm.

“Mando, (Y/N), please. Where we’re going, you don’t wanna take a child. Trust me.”

Karga glanced between them before turning and moving to place the child at one of the empty desks near the front, and (Y/N) nervously bit her lip as Cara quietly reassured them both; the magistrate walked back to where all three of them stood and gestured for them to follow him back out to the street. Mando hesitated, still looking over at the child, and (Y/N) grabbed his gloved hand to urge him along with her; he eventually relented, walking by her side out of the school room as she reluctantly released his hand.

They followed Karga and Cara through the busy streets to an administrative building; before (Y/N) could enter behind the two men, Cara’s hand shot out and grabbed her elbow to halt her. “I haven’t done anythin’ to offend you, (Y/N), have I? I only ask ‘cause you seem a little skittish here.”

Quickly shaking her head, (Y/N) met the marshal’s concerned gaze with an apologetic smile. “No, no, of course not! It’s just that…well, I saw your stripes and…I’m a veteran, too, I was a Captain in the Alliance Fleet,” She blurted out, instantly regretting her words as she hurriedly continued. “I’m just not used to seeing other veterans, that’s all.” Realization dawned on Cara’s face and she nodded in understanding, walking alongside (Y/N) as they entered the administrative building together.

“…Mythrol here’s taken care of my books since he was a pollywog. But then he disappeared one day after a bit of ‘ _creative accounting_.’”

(Y/N) looked on as a nervous Mythrol seated at a desk tried and failed to smile. “Magistrate Karga was generous enough to let me work off my debt. Thank you, by the way.”

“Three hundred and fifty years but who’s counting?” Karga muttered darkly, shooting the Mythrol a hard look.

“Well, if he runs off on you again, let me know.” The Mandalorian beside her remarked, and she arched a curious brow; the Mythrol must’ve been one of his last bounties before retiring from the Guild, she thought to herself, no wonder the guy looks so nervous. Not that (Y/N) could blame him, of course. From the stories Mando told about his old bounty hunting days, she thanked the Maker that no one had ever hired him to bring her in; she knew she’d never stand a chance against such a formidable hunter.

The Mythrol chuckled nervously. “Let me assure you, I do _not_ wanna spend any more time in carbonite! Still can’t see outta my left eye…”

“Can we talk business?” Cara interrupted as she made her way over to another desk, a grim expression on her face.

Mando glanced over at (Y/N) before curtly replying, “We’re only here for repairs.”

“Which will take a while, which means you two’ll have free time on your hands, right?” Karga exchanged a look with Cara before letting out a small sigh. “And we could really use some help.”

“Help how?” (Y/N) asked, already on-edge by the magistrate’s cryptic words.

Cara leaned forward and switched on a hologram projector resting on the desk. “This is Nevarro.” She pointed to a green-hued section of the map. “We’re here. This entire area’s a green zone, completely safe. But over on this side is the problem.” After tapping the map, they watched as she zoomed in on a red-hued area not far from where they were located.

“It’s an old Imperial base.”

“It’s where all those troops came from when we defeated Moff Gideon,” Cara elaborated and Mando tensed up at the mention of Gideon’s name; (Y/N) knew a little of Mando’s adventures on Nevarro, and she also knew why her partner was so wary of the dead Imperial officer. “This base has been here since the Imperial expansion. It’s got a skeleton crew but for some reason, it hasn’t been abandoned.”

Karga nodded. “There’s a lot of heavy weaponry in that place the black market would love to dismantle and get their hands on.”

“And you wanna mop up the last of the Imperial forces before they do.”

“Mando, I just want them off my planet,” The magistrate heaved a sigh and looked over at the hologram. “If we could take out that one last base, Nevarro would be completely safe. We could be a trade anchor for the entire sector.”

“And the planet would finally be free.”

The marshal’s compelling words stirred something within (Y/N), and she immediately thought of the school room that they’d just visited. Those children have a chance to grow up on a planet free of any Imperial influence, she thought to herself, and they could be the first generation to have the childhood that none of us got but had always dreamed of. She looked over at Mando and into the visor of his helmet, giving him a barely-discernable nod.

After a moment, Mando turned back to Karga and Cara. “What are we looking at?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The journey across the lava flats of Nevarro was quick, much to (Y/N)’s relief; the Mythrol’s land speeder was small, so she sat sandwiched in between Mando and Karga in the backseat. Under any other circumstance, she would’ve been nervously excited to be seated so close to the Mandalorian, but all she could really think of was how uncomfortable it was to be squished into the backseat of a speeder beside a towering man wearing full beskar armor. _Definitely_ not as comfortable as when you sat in his lap on Trask, she thought to herself, biting her lip as she remembered how his strong arms had wrapped so protectively around her body and how touchingly concerned his voice had been when he spoke. Giving her head a small shake, she returned her attention to her companions’ planning.

“…The whole base is powered by a reactor.”

Cara nodded from her spot in the passenger seat. “We sneak in, overload the reactor and get the hell out of there.”

“Let’s be fast, and keep the speeder running.”

(Y/N) bit her lip, silently agreeing with her partner as they turned a corner and approached the Imperial base. Once they parked the speeder, she clambered out and drew her blaster the moment her feet touched the hardened lava; she followed the others to an elevator door nestled into the rocky wall, her blaster raised as Mando examined its control panel.

After a moment, he stepped back with a frustrated sigh. “These controls are useless; they’re melted.”

The others began complaining about the poor Imperial craftsmanship, but (Y/N) was only half-listening. Her eyes were drawn up to the landing pad that was jutting out at the top of the cliff, and it might’ve been her imagination but she could’ve sworn she saw movement. Sensing that Mando had moved to stand beside her, she mumbled, “I’m getting the feeling that there’s more than a skeleton crew up there.”

“Yeah, me too; let’s check it out.” Tearing her eyes away from the landing pad, (Y/N) glanced over at Mando in time to see him holster his blaster and awkwardly raise his arm. “Um, may I?”

Her brow rose in surprise and she couldn’t help but smile. “You know, that’s the first time you’ve asked permission. Who says you can’t teach an ex-bounty hunter some manners?”

Mando tilted his helmet as he looked down at her. “Watch it, _alor’ad_ , I could always drop you.” But as he spoke, his arm wound securely around her waist and he held her against his side while looking over at the others. “Hold tight.” Activating his jetpack, they shot up into the air and landed on the top of the cliff.

“Blast ‘em!”

(Y/N) pulled herself away from Mando and ducked down in time to avoid a blaster bolt, quickly drawing her own weapon and shooting the Stormtrooper that had missed her; another Stormtrooper jumped out from behind a pile of machinery and she shot him before he could aim his blaster. She glanced over in time to see Mando shoot one before kicking another off the landing pad and turning to look at her, and she could tell by his body language that he was just as surprised as she was. “I _knew_ something was wrong about all this. Why would an empty base have armed Imps stationed at it?”

“I don’t know.” The doors of the elevator opened to reveal the others, their weapons drawn as they glanced down at the dead Stormtroopers. “Empty base, huh?”

Cara moved to peer over the edge of the landing pad while Karga stood beside the two of them. “The reactor should be set in the heat shaft. If we drain the cooling lines, this whole base will go up in a matter of minutes.”

Frowning, (Y/N) opened her mouth to voice her concern but was interrupted by the Mythrol, who excitedly called out, “Look, it’s a mint Trexler Marauder! You know how much we can get a lot for this on the black market?”

“And it’s gonna get vaporized like the rest of this base.” Mando snapped before gesturing towards the base’s entrance. “Now, let’s go.”

(Y/N) crouched behind the edge of the entrance beside Mando, clutching the handle of her blaster as the Mythrol opened the door. Parked inside were a handful of speeder bikes but no Stormtroopers, so they quietly began making their way through the hall to the base’s control room, holding their blasters at the ready while the grumbling Mythrol knocked out the security feed. Once they reached the control room, Cara hurried forward to take out the officer seated at a row of monitors while Mando and (Y/N) holstered their blasters and examined the controls.

“This should buy us some time,” (Y/N) mumbled, switching off all the different security feeds for the base. “Mando?”

The Mandalorian looked up from the monitor he’d been scrolling through. “I’ve found the heat shaft.” They drew their blasters as the others moved away from the dead Imperial officer. “Let’s go.”

Hastening through the hallways of the Imperial base, the five of them were on high alert for any Stormtroopers or Imperial officers. (Y/N) was on-edge as she fell into step beside Mando; she would’ve preferred a full-on assault to sneaking around, but she had faith in her partner’s plan. “The access corridor should be right past this junction.” Right as they came to the junction, Mando’s arm suddenly shot out and stopped her in her tracks just as a pair of chatting Stormtroopers walked by; she looked up into his helmet’s visor and nodded in silent thanks before following Cara down the now-empty hallway. They soon came upon a closed door and Mando gestured to the control panel beside it. “There, Mythrol, slice that door.”

(Y/N) anxiously kept watch while Karga quietly ordered, “Use the code cylinder.”

Moments later, the door slid open and (Y/N) turned away from the empty hallway, following the others through a second doorway and into the heat shaft. The first thing she registered was the strong smell of sulfur emanating from the shaft and when she moved to stand beside Mando, she looked down and saw the glowing orange lava bubbling down below.

_White-hot flames. A village in smoldering ruins as people ran away screaming and crying. Stormtroopers raising their flamethrowers and blasters, leveling them at the retreating villagers and firing without hesitation…_

“(Y/N)!” Two familiar strong arms wrapped around her waist and yanked her backwards, away from the edge of the heat shaft that she’d nearly toppled over; her knees gave out and she felt herself being dragged to sit against the wall as she realized that her body was shaking. In a flash, Mando was kneeling in front of her, his gloved hands resting on her shoulders. “(Y/N), what’s wrong, are you hurt?” Her voice wouldn’t work, so all she could do was shake her head and squeeze her eyes shut to block out the glow of the lava. “ _Osik_!” He swore and she heard him hurriedly ask, “What do I do?”

“Captain. C’mon, Captain, I need you to look at me.” Cara’s voice was clear and strong in front of her, and (Y/N) forced herself to open her eyes; the marshal smiled and nodded in encouragement. “That’s it, Captain. You’re safe here, okay?” She glanced over at Mando beside her. “Stay here and try calming her down, I’ll cover Karga and Mythrol.”

Once Cara stood and made her way back to where the others stood, Mando scooted closer and held one of (Y/N)’s trembling hands between his own. “I’m here, _alor’ad_ , but you’ve gotta snap out of it. C’mon, _cyar’ika_ …” While she continued struggling for air, Mando took the hand he’d been holding and, without any hesitation, brought it up underneath the bottom of his helmet to rest against the skin of his face; (Y/N) blinked in surprise, unable to move her hand or look away from the visor of his helmet as he continued. “You feel that, _ner cyar’ika alor’ad_? I’m _right here_ with you, no matter what, but I need you to pull yourself together so we can get the hell out of here, okay?”

Her partner’s words, spoken with such earnest conviction, combined with the grounding feel of his stubbled cheek gave (Y/N) the strength she needed to take a deep breath and nod. “I’m good, I’m good…” With Mando’s help, she eased herself up off the ground and held her blaster in her hand. “How’re we looking?”

A blaring alarm rang out and mixed with the sound of the lava churning more violently below, but Mando was quick to usher her out of the heat shaft before she could see anything else; from somewhere behind the two of them, the Mythrol called out, “All right, she’s gonna blow, let’s go! Let’s get out of here!”

The five of them ran down the hallways, their blasters still drawn and escape being the only thing on their mind. Beside (Y/N), Cara asked, “How long do we have?”

“Ten minutes at most!”

They ran faster, only stopping to flatten themselves against a wall when they heard a group of Stormtroopers running to their battle stations; at Mando’s command, they turned down a different hallway to avoid the soldiers. Soon, they rounded another corner and found themselves in a large room, where two Imperial officers stood before a computer monitor.

One officer drew his blaster. “Destroy it!” He shouted to the second officer before firing on them; (Y/N) fired back along with the others and allowed Mando to usher her off to the side for better cover. Moments later, both men were dead and the room was silent once again.

(Y/N) was about to turn towards Mando when a light-blue glow caught her eye and caused her to freeze in her tracks. They were standing in front of a wall of oval-shaped tanks, and floating within each of them were vaguely-humanoid creatures. This isn’t an Imperial military base, she thought to herself, her blood running cold at the gruesome sight.

“I thought you said this was a forward operating base.” Cara’s horrified whisper broke the silence.

“I thought it was.”

“No, this isn’t a military operation,” (Y/N) swallowed the lump in her throat and tore her eyes away from the tanks to look at her companions. “…This is a lab.”

Cara nodded. “We need to get into the system and figure out what’s going on.”

The Mythrol whimpered in fear. “What about the reactor?”

“Do it!”

Scrambling to comply with the marshal’s orders, the Mythrol hurried over to the computer monitors and began pressing buttons while they returned their gazes to the tanks. Mando stood beside (Y/N), his free hand clenching and un-clenching as he stared. “I don’t like this.”

_“…replicated the results of the subsequent trials, which also resulted in catastrophic failure.”_

They turned to see a hologram of a be-speckled man playing, and they slowly approached it as their words continued on.

_“There were promising effects for an entire fortnight, but then, sadly, the body rejected the blood. I highly doubt we’ll find a donor with a higher M-count, though. I recommend that we suspend all experimentation. I fear that the volunteer will meet the same regrettable fate if we proceed with the transfusion. Unfortunately, we have exhausted our initial supply of blood. The Child is small, and I was only able to harvest a limited amount without killing him.”_

(Y/N)’s mouth fell open in horror and she brought her free hand up to cover it. Based on everything that Mando had told her about his past adventures, she knew that the man speaking was Dr. Pershing, the man who’d briefly experimented on the child before Mando rescued him.

_“If these experiments are to continue as requested, we would again require access to the donor. I will not disappoint you again, Moff Gideon.”_

Her head snapped up just as Mando looked down at her, and she didn’t have to see his face to know what he was thinking. “This must be an old transmission. Moff Gideon is dead.”

Shaking his head, the Mythrol nervously replied, “No. This recording’s three days old.”

(Y/N) stared up into Mando’s visor, her eyes widening in fear. “If Gideon’s alive, then-”

Blaster fire forced them all to duck and take aim at the small group of Stormtroopers entering the room; (Y/N) shot one directly in the chest as her partner shoved her towards the wall of tanks for better cover, using his beskar-clad body to shield her as they continued exchanging blaster fire. Once all the Stormtroopers lay dead on the floor, (Y/N) pushed herself off the wall and moved to stand beside Mando, her fear for the child’s safety being the only thing on her mind.

“We need to get the kid.”

“Jet back, you’re faster that way,” Cara ordered, her blaster still raised as she nodded. “We’ll head back to the speeder and meet you in town.”

(Y/N) and Mando turned and ran out of the room, sprinting down the maze of hallways and blasting any Stormtroopers that got in their way. She realized that her partner was leading them back to the heat shaft but she set aside her discomfort for the sake of the child she’d grown to care for.

“Hold tight and don’t look down!” Mando called out to her over the loud churning of the lava as they skidded into the heat shaft. (Y/N) did as he asked, throwing her free arm around him and looking straight up at the shaft’s exposed opening high above; he held her tight and was about to activate his jetpack when a Stormtrooper appeared on the ledge across from them and fired his blaster, the bolt ricocheting off of Mando’s chest plate. (Y/N) quickly aimed her blaster and shot the Stormtrooper just as Mando spun her out of the way and shot at the two other Stormtroopers in the hallway behind them.

“Just go, I’ll cover us!” Tightening her hold on the Mandalorian, (Y/N) felt his body tense as they flew up the shaft; she quickly spotted two Stormtroopers standing at the top of the shaft and fired her blaster, killing them both with two shots. They landed harshly on the top of the cliff, and Mando let out a grunt of pain when another blaster shot rang out; she was quick to shoot the Stormtrooper and turn her attention back to Mando, who was clutching his side. “Mando! Are you hit?!”

“It’s just a graze, let’s go!” Before she could get a look at his wound her partner swept her into his arms, one arm holding her around the back and the other wrapping underneath the crook of her knees, just as he activated his jetpack again and flew them into the air.

They sped through the skies of Nevarro at breakneck speed, and all (Y/N) could do was worry about the child. Neither of them spoke, but she knew that Mando was just as anxious as she was; he kept urging his jetpack to go faster and she could feel his gloved fingers digging into her side. In no time, the town came into view and they were landing on the ground near the entrance gate.

Mando set her down and began backing away while he spoke. “Get the ship prepped for take-off, I’ll go get the kid!”

With a nod, (Y/N) turned and sprinted to the _Razor Crest_ while he ran towards the town, her shoulders sagging in relief when she realized that the ship looked as good as new. Two mechanics tried calling out to her but she ignored them, dashing up the extended ramp and climbing the ladder into the cockpit. She threw herself down into the pilot’s seat, buckling herself in and preparing the newly-repaired ship for take-off; her experienced hands flew across the buttons and switches and in no time at all, the engines were rumbling to life.

“That’s it, baby,” (Y/N) muttered proudly, patting the side of one of the control panel’s and glancing over her shoulder in time to see Mando climbing into the cockpit, the child resting securely in the crook of his arm. “Thank the Maker!”

Mando set the child, who was preoccupied with the package of cookies in his hand, down onto one of the passenger seats and stood beside her as she slowly guided the ship upwards. “You booted everything up _that_ quickly?”

Raising a brow at his impressed tone, she cockily replied, “I told you ex-smugglers were the better pilots. Now, strap yourselves in and let me show you how it’s done.”

The Mandalorian hurriedly secured his and the child’s restraints and once she was sure they were strapped in, (Y/N) engaged the thrusters and piloted the ship through the clear blue skies of Nevarro back towards the Imperial base. It didn’t take her long to spot their companions down below; they were in the Trexler Marauder instead of the Mythrol’s speeder and were being chased out of the rocky ravine by three TIE Fighters. The Imperial ships fired on them and began breaking away for another pass, but (Y/N) clutched the joysticks tightly in her hands and fired, shooting one ship down in one blast. The two remaining TIE Fighters broke off into opposite directions, so she pushed a lever up and followed the one on the right, climbing higher and higher into the atmosphere.

“You’d better hang on, little guy!” (Y/N) called out over her shoulder, smiling to herself when the child let out an excited squeal. As they reached the white clouds of the planet, she fired on the ship, managing to hit its wing and hastily swerve to avoid the exploding wreckage. The child giggled in delight as she switched off the engines, letting the ship fall backwards and stall in the air while the thrusters finished charging.

“ _Alor’ad_ …”

Grinning widely, (Y/N) slammed a lever up and steered the speeding ship into a corkscrew spin towards the third TIE Fighter; the small ship fired at them without landing a hit and with a simple squeeze of her finger, she fired their guns and watched with a satisfied smile as the Imperial ship blew up. After dodging the wreckage, she smoothly pulled out of their nosedive and leveled out the ship, switching the controls onto autopilot as she turned around to look at her passengers. “Not too bad, huh, guys?”

Mando merely stared back at her in stunned silence and while she flushed in embarrassment, the child blinked and threw up blue-tinted vomit onto his robe; quickly turning his attention to the guilty-looking child, her partner heaved a sigh. “Oh boy.”

“ _That was some impressive flying, Mando! What do I owe you?_ ”

While the two of them used the edge of his cape to hurriedly clean up the child, Mando called out through the ship’s communication radio, “That wasn’t me flying, Karga, I told you I’d hired a hell of a pilot.” (Y/N) ducked her head to hide her bashful smile and he continued. “With the repairs, let’s call it even.”

“ _Can I at least buy you two a drink? I need to find out why an impressive woman like (Y/N)’s hanging around with a bum like you!_ ”

“Sorry, we have some…onboard maintenance we’ve gotta take care of.” Seeing that the child was looking better, (Y/N) turned her attention back to the ship’s controls and switched back to manual piloting.

“Then we’ve gotta hit the road before Gideon catches wise.”

Karga sighed. “ _Well, good luck flying, my friends._ ”

“ _And Captain? May the Force be with you._ ”

(Y/N)’s hands stilled on the controls and the corner of her mouth curled into a small smile at Cara’s farewell. “And also with you, Soldier.”

The ship flew through the upper atmosphere of Nevarro and in no time, they were traveling through hyperspace towards their next big adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!
> 
> Mando'a Translations:  
> Alor'ad-Captain  
> Osik-Shit  
> Cyar’ika-Darling, Sweetheart  
> Ner cyar’ika alor’ad-My darling captain


End file.
